A Handbook of Puppetry

I used to conduct Kilbil, a children's programme on Mumbai Doordarshan, during 1975-79 using a hand puppet who was called Dhituklya. This programme was very popular. Many non-Marathi-speaking people also used to watch this programme. Dhituklya and I used to chat and conduct the programme. Children knew that Dhituklya was a mere puppet, but they used to identify with him. Dr. R.S. Saraf, Director of the Language Development Project of the Education Department of the Bombay Municipal Corporation, saw my programme one day and called me, he expressed his wish that I should work with him as an advisor on the Language Development Project which was funded by the Ford Foundation. This meant that research had to be done on how puppets could be used in primary education, I thought it was a challenge and I accepted the offer.

During 1976-78 I studied the curriculum of the 1st to 4th standards. I dramatized some poems and lessons, made puppets for this, recorded the skits, conducted workshops for teachers and taught them how to make simple puppets. Therefore, in 1987-88 I was given a 3rd standard class in the Kherwadi Municipal School to conduct two-hour sessions every Saturday for a year. During this period I worked with a 3rd standard class by devising games based on theatre techniques and puppets. The then Director of the Language Development Project, Panna Adhvaryu, and her colleagues realized that these children had not only developed language skills but their overall personalities had also improved. She invited some teachers to train under me.

In this manner I developed a vision about how puppets can be used not merely for entertainment but also for other specific purpose. I then conducted hundreds of workshops for teachers, social workers, nurses, psychologists, medical students, education workers, theatre persons, dumb and deaf children et al. those worth specially mentioning are: sex workers of Kamathipura to Create awareness about social issues; education officers of the Bombay Natural History Society to create environment awareness; to make children of alcoholic parents more articulate etc. I have recently produced a play on child sexual abuse. I successfully used shadow puppets to depict the sexual abuse part more graphically without hurting the sensibilities of the audience. Similarity in my latest play on child trafficking I have used life-size puppets for the victims, again for the same purpose and also equally successfully.

After and during acquiring knowledge and imparting it to others for over 28 yrs. I realized that people have now become curious and inquisitive about puppets. Thirty years ago people had almost forgotten about puppets. Though this situation has now changed people still do not know how to use them. They are enthusiastic about making puppets but they have not yet realized how to use them effectively and this aspect is being neglected.

I think that if some reference in the form of a book is made available this understanding will improve. There are no such books available and so I thought that I should write one.

The basic idea behind writing this book is to bring back the lost glory of puppetry.

Meena Naik

16 March, 2004