Topic 10: Indian Puppetry

Puppetry (Putul Kala) is one of India's oldest and most ingenious folk arts — storytelling through crafted figures that combine sculpture, painting, music, dance and drama in miniature. The exam tests it almost entirely as type–region–name matching. This book-depth file covers the four classical types — string (Kathputli, Kundhei, Gombeyatta, Bommalattam), shadow (Tholu Bommalata, Ravanachhaya, Tholpavakoothu), glove/hand (Pavakathakali), and rod (Putul Nautch, Yampuri) — with region pairs, techniques, social role and PYQs with model answers.

UPSC Prelims · Mains GS-I 4 Types · Region Pairs ~30 min read Folk & Intangible Heritage Moderate Weight

Conceptual Clarity — How UPSC Frames Puppetry

Puppetry is almost pure type–region–name matching ("Ravanachhaya belongs to which state and which type?"). The productive skill is holding the four-type grid with each region's local name locked in. Sort your prep:

Static/factual — the four types (string, shadow, glove, rod) and each state's name: Kathputli (Rajasthan, string), Tholu Bommalata (Andhra, shadow), Pavakathakali (Kerala, glove), Putul Nautch (Bengal, rod). High recall.
Thematic/stylistic — how sound/image is produced: strings vs leather-silhouette-and-light vs hand-worn vs rod-supported; opaque vs translucent shadow puppets. Technique-to-type mapping.
Analytical (GS-I) — puppetry as a composite folk art and mass medium of epics/social messaging, and as an endangered livelihood needing revival. Needs idea + example + judgement.

Note: A single memory grid solves most questions — four types × the region name. Shadow puppetry is concentrated in the South (Andhra, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Maharashtra); string puppetry is the most widespread.

1. Overview & the Four Types

Puppetry is a composite art — the puppet-maker is sculptor, painter and costumer, while the performance adds music, narration and movement. India classifies puppets into four types by how they are manipulated, and this grid is the backbone of the whole topic.

String (Sutradharika): jointed wooden/cloth puppets worked by strings from above — the most widespread type.
Shadow (Chhaya): flat leather figures pressed against a translucent screen lit from behind, so the audience sees moving silhouettes — concentrated in South India.
Glove/Hand (Beni): small puppets worn like a glove and animated by the fingers — the head and arms move directly.
Rod (Dandi): larger puppets supported and manipulated from below by rods — often an extension of glove puppets.

One-line frame: Indian puppetry = four manipulation techniques (string, shadow, glove, rod) each localised under a regional name — a single 4×region grid answers most questions.

2. String Puppets

String puppets (marionettes) are the most widespread Indian type — jointed figures suspended and worked by strings, capable of remarkably lifelike movement. Nearly every region has its own tradition.

Name	State	Feature
Kathputli	Rajasthan	Most famous; carved wood, large flowing skirts, no legs; folk-tale & legend themes
Kundhei	Odisha	Light wooden puppets, long flowing skirts, many joints
Gombeyatta	Karnataka	Highly stylised; costumes & movements modelled on Yakshagana
Bommalattam	Tamil Nadu	Combines rod & string; among the largest, heaviest puppets
Gopalila Kundhei	Odisha	Krishna-story string puppetry

Kathputli (Rajasthan) is the iconic Indian marionette — carved from a single piece of wood, brightly painted, dressed in long skirts and worked with a few strings; the puppeteers (Bhat community) narrate legends of folk heroes.
Bommalattam (Tamil Nadu) is technically hybrid — manipulated by both rods and strings, with the strings tied to a ring on the puppeteer's head — and uses the largest, heaviest puppets in India.
Gombeyatta (Karnataka) takes its costume and stylised movement directly from Yakshagana theatre — a link between puppetry and folk drama.

Prelims trap: Kathputli = Rajasthan (string). Kundhei = Odisha; Gombeyatta = Karnataka (string); Bommalattam = Tamil Nadu (rod+string hybrid). Do not confuse the Karnataka string Gombeyatta with the Karnataka shadow Togalu Gombeyatta.

3. Shadow Puppets

Shadow puppetry is India's most distinctive form — flat, often translucent leather figures pressed to a back-lit screen so the audience watches coloured or black silhouettes. It is overwhelmingly a South Indian tradition, tied to epic recitation.

Name	State	Feature
Tholu Bommalata	Andhra Pradesh	Large, colourful, translucent leather; "dance of leather puppets"
Togalu Gombeyatta	Karnataka	Size varies by social rank of the character
Ravanachhaya	Odisha	Opaque (no colour), one-piece (no joints); most delicate, poetic shadows
Tholpavakoothu	Kerala	Temple shadow theatre; Ramayana in Bhagavati temples
Charma Bahuli (Chamadyacha)	Maharashtra	Leather shadow puppets

Tholu Bommalata (Andhra) uses the largest shadow puppets — made of translucent, richly coloured leather, so the shadows glow in colour; themes are the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Ravanachhaya (Odisha) is the most artistically refined — puppets are opaque (throwing black shadows), made in one piece without joints, producing delicate, poetic, moving silhouettes.
Tholpavakoothu (Kerala) is a ritual temple shadow theatre performed in Devi (Bhagavati) temples, dramatising the Ramayana over many nights.

GS-I hook: Shadow puppetry shows India's genius for the composite — leather-craft, painting, light and epic narration fuse into a single temple-and-village art, and it links South India to a shadow-theatre tradition spread across Asia.

4. Glove / Hand Puppets

Glove (or hand/sleeve) puppets are small figures worn on the hand and animated directly by the fingers — intimate, fast-moving and ideal for lively, comic and devotional storytelling.

Name	State	Feature
Pavakathakali	Kerala	Glove puppets styled like Kathakali; epic themes, elaborate faces
Gulabo-Sitabo	Uttar Pradesh	Comic glove-puppet duo; satirical banter
Pavai Koothu / Sakhi Kandhei	Tamil Nadu / Odisha	Local glove traditions

Pavakathakali (Kerala) is the marquee glove tradition — the puppets are dressed and painted exactly like Kathakali dancers (green faces, huge head-gear) and enact the same epic stories, to Kathakali-style music (Chenda, Chengila).
Gulabo-Sitabo (UP) is a comic glove-puppet act built around the quarrels of two women (a wife and a mistress) — folk humour and social satire.
Technique: the puppeteer's index finger moves the head and the thumb and middle finger the two arms — giving quick, expressive gestures suited to comedy and dialogue.

Prelims trap: Pavakathakali = Kerala glove puppetry styled on Kathakali. Don't confuse it with Tholpavakoothu (Kerala shadow puppetry) — both are Kerala but one is glove, one is shadow.

5. Rod Puppets

Rod puppets are larger figures supported and worked from below by rods — essentially an extension of the glove puppet, allowing bigger, more elaborate figures. They are concentrated in eastern India.

Name	State	Feature
Putul Nautch (Danger Putul)	West Bengal	Large costumed rod puppets; Jatra-style music & themes
Yampuri	Bihar	One-piece wooden rod puppets (no joints); unique construction
Putul Nach	Odisha/Assam	Regional rod-puppet variants

Putul Nautch (Bengal) uses large, richly costumed rod puppets, three to four feet tall, moved by a rod fixed to the neck; performances borrow Jatra's music and melodrama.
Yampuri (Bihar) is distinctive for being made of wood in a single piece without joints — demanding great skill and dexterity from the puppeteer.
Technique: the main rod supports the body/neck while thinner rods work the hands — the puppeteer stands or crouches behind a screen below the stage.

GS-I hook: Rod puppetry's eastern home (Bengal, Bihar, Odisha) shows how a single technique adapts locally — Bengal's jointed, Jatra-influenced Putul Nautch versus Bihar's rigid, one-piece Yampuri.

6. Regional Master Table

The single most useful chart in this topic — the whole 4×region grid on one screen. Learn each type–name–state row, because that is exactly the form UPSC's matching questions take.

Type	Name	State
String	Kathputli	Rajasthan
	Kundhei	Odisha
	Gombeyatta	Karnataka
	Bommalattam (rod+string)	Tamil Nadu
Shadow	Tholu Bommalata	Andhra Pradesh
	Togalu Gombeyatta	Karnataka
	Ravanachhaya (opaque)	Odisha
	Tholpavakoothu	Kerala
Glove	Pavakathakali	Kerala
Glove	Gulabo-Sitabo	Uttar Pradesh
Rod	Putul Nautch	West Bengal
Rod	Yampuri	Bihar

Memory hooks: Kathputli = the famous Rajasthani string puppet; Ravanachhaya = Odisha's opaque, jointless shadow; Yampuri = Bihar's one-piece rod; Bommalattam = the big Tamil rod+string hybrid.
Two-Karnataka trap: Gombeyatta (string) and Togalu Gombeyatta (shadow) both belong to Karnataka.

Highest-frequency exam idea: match type + name + state. Kathputli (Rajasthan/string), Tholu Bommalata (Andhra/shadow), Ravanachhaya (Odisha/shadow, opaque), Pavakathakali (Kerala/glove), Putul Nautch (Bengal/rod), Yampuri (Bihar/rod).

7. Technique, Themes & Storytelling

Beyond names, puppetry is a craft-and-performance system. Its themes and method explain why it endured for centuries as a village medium.

Composite craft: a puppet fuses wood/leather carving, painting, costume and jewellery — the maker is sculptor and artist; the show adds live music and narration.
Themes: overwhelmingly the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Puranic tales, local legends and folk heroes — puppetry was a way of transmitting the epics to the illiterate.
Manipulation: string (from above), rod (from below), glove (hand), shadow (leather against back-lit screen) — each demanding distinct puppeteer skills.
Music & narration: a sutradhar (narrator) and musicians voice the characters and drive the story — puppetry is never silent.
Portability: a whole troupe and stage could travel village to village — making puppetry a truly mobile mass medium.

Prelims trap: Shadow puppets can be translucent-and-coloured (Tholu Bommalata, Andhra) or opaque-and-black (Ravanachhaya, Odisha). Bommalattam uniquely uses both rods and strings.

9. Institutions, Decline & Revival

Puppetry today is a threatened folk art — squeezed by cinema, television and mobile entertainment — kept alive by academies, festivals and dedicated troupes.

Sangeet Natak Akademi (1953): supports and documents puppetry as a performing art; it set up specialised centres and honours master puppeteers.
Ishara Puppet Theatre & UNIMA-India: modern institutions and the international puppetry body's Indian chapter promote and innovate the art (contemporary and educational puppetry).
Decline factors: competition from cinema/TV/OTT, loss of village patronage, migration of hereditary puppeteers to other work, and few young learners — the classic intangible-heritage crisis.
Revival levers: festivals, museum/tourism showcases (Shilpgram, Bhopal's Bharat Bhavan), development-communication contracts, and blending puppetry with education and modern themes.
Why it matters: each dying tradition (a Ravanachhaya, a Yampuri) is an irreplaceable craft-and-performance system — safeguarding needs livelihood support, not just documentation.

One-line frame: Puppetry survives only if the puppeteer can earn from it — so revival means new audiences and roles (education, development messaging, tourism), not merely archiving old shows. check for latest update or data

10. Prelims PYQs

Concept-practice MCQs on Indian puppetry, built on genuine UPSC themes. Each carries a worked rationale.

Concept practice

Q: The famous Kathputli puppets, worked by strings and dressed in long flowing skirts, belong to which state?

(a) Rajasthan
(b) Odisha
(c) Karnataka
(d) West Bengal

Answer: (a) Rajasthan. Kathputli is the iconic Rajasthani string marionette, carved from wood and performed by the Bhat community.

Concept practice

Q: Consider the following pairs of puppet form and type:
1. Tholu Bommalata — Shadow
2. Putul Nautch — Rod
3. Pavakathakali — String
Which of the pairs are correctly matched?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (a). Tholu Bommalata is a shadow form (Andhra) and Putul Nautch is a rod form (Bengal). Pavakathakali (Kerala) is a glove puppet form, not string — so pair 3 is wrong.

Concept practice

Q: Ravanachhaya, noted for its delicate, opaque (colourless) one-piece leather figures that throw black shadows, is a shadow-puppet tradition of —

(a) Andhra Pradesh
(b) Karnataka
(c) Odisha
(d) Kerala

Answer: (c) Odisha. Unlike the coloured, translucent Tholu Bommalata (Andhra), Ravanachhaya puppets are opaque and jointless, producing poetic black silhouettes.

Concept practice

Q: Which puppet form uniquely combines both rod and string manipulation and uses among the largest, heaviest puppets in India?

(a) Kundhei (Odisha)
(b) Bommalattam (Tamil Nadu)
(c) Yampuri (Bihar)
(d) Gombeyatta (Karnataka)

Answer: (b) Bommalattam (Tamil Nadu) — a hybrid worked by rods and strings, with the strings tied to a ring on the puppeteer's head.

Concept practice

Q: The Yampuri puppets, distinctive for being made of wood in a single piece without joints, are a rod-puppet tradition of —

(a) West Bengal
(b) Bihar
(c) Assam
(d) Jharkhand

Answer: (b) Bihar. Yampuri's jointless one-piece construction demands unusual dexterity; Bengal's rod tradition is the jointed Putul Nautch.

Concept practice

Q: Pavakathakali, in which glove puppets are dressed and painted like Kathakali dancers to enact epic stories, belongs to —

(a) Tamil Nadu
(b) Karnataka
(c) Kerala
(d) Andhra Pradesh

Answer: (c) Kerala. Pavakathakali is a glove-puppet form styled on Kathakali; Kerala's shadow tradition is the separate Tholpavakoothu.

Prelims — anticipated themes

Likely: type–name–state matching (Kathputli, Tholu Bommalata, Ravanachhaya, Pavakathakali, Putul Nautch, Yampuri); string vs shadow vs glove vs rod; translucent vs opaque shadow; Bommalattam (rod+string); two-Karnataka trap (Gombeyatta vs Togalu Gombeyatta). check for latest update or data

11. Mains PYQs + Model Answers

Model GS-I questions on Indian puppetry. Each carries a full skeleton — Introduction → body → Conclusion.

Model question — GS-I 15 marks · 250 words

Q: "Indian puppetry is a composite folk art and one of the oldest mass media." Discuss its forms and social significance.

Model Answer

Introduction: Puppetry blends sculpture, painting, music, dance and drama into a single miniature theatre, and for centuries served as one of India's most effective mass media for a non-literate society.
Four forms: string (Kathputli, Rajasthan), shadow (Tholu Bommalata, Andhra; Ravanachhaya, Odisha), glove (Pavakathakali, Kerala) and rod (Putul Nautch, Bengal) — each a distinct regional craft.
Composite craft (the core): the puppet-maker is sculptor, painter and costumer, while performance adds narration and live music — a microcosm of Indian folk culture.
Social role: it carried the epics and moral tales to villages, entertained and satirised, and today is used for development communication (literacy, health).
Critical edge: cinema, TV and lost patronage have pushed hereditary puppeteers into decline, making this a livelihood as well as heritage crisis.
Conclusion: puppetry is folk India in miniature — preserving it means giving puppeteers new audiences and roles, not merely displaying old figures in museums.

Model question — GS-I 15 marks · 250 words

Q: Compare the four types of Indian puppetry and account for their regional distribution.

Model Answer

Introduction: India classifies puppets by manipulation into four types — string, shadow, glove and rod — each with a distinct technique and a characteristic regional home.
String: the most widespread — jointed marionettes worked from above (Kathputli/Rajasthan, Kundhei/Odisha, Gombeyatta/Karnataka).
Shadow (the core): flat leather figures on a back-lit screen, concentrated in the South — translucent-coloured (Tholu Bommalata/Andhra) or opaque (Ravanachhaya/Odisha), linked to temple epic-recitation.
Glove & rod: glove puppets are intimate and finger-worked (Pavakathakali/Kerala, Gulabo-Sitabo/UP); rod puppets are larger, worked from below, concentrated in the East (Putul Nautch/Bengal, Yampuri/Bihar).
Regional logic: distribution followed local craft materials (leather in the South), theatre traditions (Yakshagana–Gombeyatta), and patron communities.
Conclusion: the four types map India's regional creativity — one storytelling impulse expressed through locally-evolved techniques and materials.

Model question — GS-I 10 marks · 150 words

Q: How can traditional puppetry be adapted as a tool for modern development communication?

Model Answer

Introduction: Puppetry's reach into rural, non-literate audiences makes it a natural vehicle for development messaging, extending its ancient role as a mass medium.
Strengths: it is cheap, portable, participatory and locally trusted — capable of conveying complex messages through story and humour.
Applications (the core): literacy, immunisation and health, family planning, sanitation, environmental awareness and voter education have all used puppet shows successfully.
Institutional support: government, NGOs and bodies like the Sangeet Natak Akademi can commission puppeteers, giving them income and purpose.
Critical edge: messaging must respect the art's aesthetics and not reduce puppeteers to mere mouthpieces; sustainability needs steady patronage.
Conclusion: adapting puppetry for development marries livelihood with public good — keeping a dying art alive by giving it a contemporary mission.

Model question — GS-I 10 marks · 150 words

Q: Why is Indian folk puppetry in decline, and what measures can safeguard it?

Model Answer

Introduction: Once a thriving village medium, folk puppetry now survives precariously as its audiences and patrons vanish.
Causes of decline: competition from cinema, TV and mobile entertainment; loss of feudal/village patronage; and migration of hereditary puppeteers to other livelihoods.
Consequence (the core): rare traditions (Ravanachhaya, Yampuri) risk extinction, taking with them irreplaceable craft and performance knowledge.
Safeguards: livelihood support and fellowships, festivals and tourism showcases, documentation, development-communication contracts, and integration into education.
Critical edge: mere archiving is not enough — a living art needs living audiences and paying work.
Conclusion: safeguarding puppetry means sustaining the puppeteer — combining cultural pride with real economic opportunity.

Mains GS-I — anticipated themes

Likely: puppetry as composite folk art & mass medium; four types & regional distribution; puppetry for development communication; decline & safeguarding of folk performing arts; puppetry and transmission of the epics. check for latest update or data

15-Minute Revision Box

Must-Remember Facts — Indian Puppetry

String Puppets

Kathputli = Rajasthan (iconic marionette)
Kundhei = Odisha; Gombeyatta = Karnataka
Bommalattam = Tamil Nadu (rod+string, largest)

Shadow Puppets (South)

Tholu Bommalata = Andhra (translucent, coloured)
Ravanachhaya = Odisha (opaque, one-piece)
Togalu Gombeyatta = Karnataka; Tholpavakoothu = Kerala

Glove Puppets

Pavakathakali = Kerala (styled on Kathakali)
Gulabo-Sitabo = UP (comic duo)
Finger-worked; intimate & fast

Rod Puppets (East)

Putul Nautch = West Bengal (large, Jatra-style)
Yampuri = Bihar (wood, one-piece, jointless)
Worked from below by rods

Highest-frequency themes: type–name–state matching · translucent (Andhra) vs opaque (Odisha) shadow · Bommalattam (rod+string) · two-Karnataka trap · Pavakathakali (glove) vs Tholpavakoothu (shadow). Four types × region = the whole grid.

Name	State
Kathputli (string)	Rajasthan
Tholu Bommalata (shadow)	Andhra
Pavakathakali (glove)	Kerala
Putul Nautch (rod)	Bengal

Topic 10: Indian Puppetry

On this page

Conceptual Clarity — How UPSC Frames Puppetry

1. Overview & the Four Types

2. String Puppets

3. Shadow Puppets

4. Glove / Hand Puppets

5. Rod Puppets

6. Regional Master Table

7. Technique, Themes & Storytelling

8. Social Role & Significance

9. Institutions, Decline & Revival

10. Prelims PYQs

11. Mains PYQs + Model Answers

Model Answer

Model Answer

Model Answer

Model Answer

15-Minute Revision Box

Must-Remember Facts — Indian Puppetry

String Puppets

Shadow Puppets (South)

Glove Puppets

Rod Puppets (East)