Continuing the legacy of their forefathers, 36 youngsters belonging to families of puppetry artisans have learnt the nitty-gritty of the age-old art form from veteran artistes at Jamuna Nagar on the city’s outskirts for two months. The State government’s Department of Culture has provided them the infrastructure, along with a monthly stipend of Rs. 2,000 each for learning the art that is on the verge of extinction.
Jamuna Nagar is a residential colony built exclusively for puppetry artisans by film heroine of yesteryears, Jamuna, when she was a Member of Parliament. Of the 13,000 families of puppetry artisans in Andhra Pradesh, 1,500 reside here, where the younger generation is unaware of the art form.
“At a time we are worrying about passing on the art to the next generation, the Department of Culture responded positively to our appeal and made arrangements for the training programme,” says Anaparthi Edukondalu, president of the Toorpu Godavari Jilla Tolubommalata Vrutti Kalakarula Samakhya, who coordinated the training programme.
The Jamuna Nagar community hall turned into a classroom for the 36 students, including 22 girls, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. everyday, where the students were introduced to the environment of puppetry on the first day. They were divided into three groups with 12 members each. ‘Sundarakanda’, a play of duration of one hour, was taught to one group, while ‘Vinayaka Vijayam’ and ‘Srikrishna’ — half an hour each — to the rest of the groups by three different teachers. A special play titled ‘Swachh Bharat was taught to all the students.
The students were of the age group of 15 to 22 years. While 30 of them were enrolled in different educational institutions, the remaining six are engaged in petty jobs and trades.
“I have changed my day plan for these two months. I spent my time on academics in the morning hours and allocated the evenings to lessons on puppetry,” says Mani Ratnam, a student of B.Sc. final year from Ideal Degree College. “My grandfather was a renowned puppetry artiste of yesteryears, but my father did not know the art. Because of this training, I am able to know about the legacy of my grandfather,” says Tota Narendra, a petty trader. “Now, I am looking for a guru who can teach me the entire art,” he adds.
In all, the department has spent Rs. 2.6 lakh on the programme, and the 36 students are now looking for opportunities to perform their art. They can play the puppets, render dialogues and recite poems for different characters, besides playing ‘Dolak’ for the background score. “The officials told us to select students from any background. But, we wish to teach this art to our children first,” says Mr. Edukondalu.
