Shillong Capital in the Hills

Situated at nearly 1,500 feet above sea level, Shillong is perched high in the mountains. While it’s a bustling capital, you are never far away from nature and there are lots of quick getaways you can make from here, too. In Shillong, Lady Hydari Park is popular with both locals and tourists. It has an abundance of flora and the flowers in full bloom make for a pretty sight. You can also visit Ward’s Lake, a manmade lake named after a Chief Commissioner of Assam. Set amidst gardens, the lake has boating facilities and offers plenty of fun for children. Shillong is dotted with churches and the one in Laitumkhrah is a beautiful structure. 

Museum buffs should visit the Government Museum attached to the State Central Library complex with its displays devoted to local tribal culture. The Don Bosco centre also showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Northeast. 

You can pack in outdoor activities as well while in Shillong. The golf course here is one of the oldest in the country. Set in an undulating valley amidst pine groves, it’s sure to give the serious golfer hours of pleasure. 

Not far from the city centre are waterfalls such as Spread Eagle Falls, Sweet Falls and Elephant Falls, which make excellent settings for a picnic. 

Head up to Shillong Peak which offers lovely views of the city, particularly in the evenings when the lights begin to come on.

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Temples in and Around Bhubaneswar

The Bhrama Purana refers to Bhubaneswar, a revered pilgrimage centre and ancient capital of Kalinga, as Ekamra Kshetra, meaning ‘mango orchards.’ The Oriyan capital, the ‘city of temples,’ named after Tribhuvaneswar, ‘Lord of Three Worlds,’ still preserves over 500 of India’s finest temples. Together with Puri and Konark, Bhubaneswar forms the ‘golden triangle,’ one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in East India. The Ekamra Utsav is a festival that showcases the rich heritage of Odisha with art, handicrafts, dance, music and cuisine.

Lingaraja Temple 
The sprawling 10th-century Lingaraja Temple, made from red sandstone, is an exceptional specimen of the Oriya style of temple building, built by the Somavanshi king, Jajati Keshari. It boasts a spacious courtyard bounded by fortified walls and covers over 250,000 sq ft, and contains 50 smaller shrines dedicated to the Hindu pantheon. Its elaborately carved 180-foot tower dominates the city’s skyline. The sanctum sanctorum of the main temple is adorned with a massive shivling in granite. It is regarded as ‘Swayambhu’ or self-manifested and is worshipped as Hari-Hara, as both Vishnu and Shiva. While the image of Lingaraja is taken in procession to the Jalamandir in the centre of the Bindu Sagar lake once a year, 22 worship services are offered each day to the deity.

Rajarani Temple 
This 11th-century temple derives its name from rajarani, a type of red sandstone used in its construction. The east- facing shrine, which is bereft of any idols, displays the architectural magnificence of the old Kalinga sculptures.

It reveals multiple scroll work, and is somewhat different from other temples in the city and marks a different phase in the evolution of Oriyan temple architecture. Its spire with multiple sub-spires bears semblance to the temples at Khajuraho. The temple’s most outstanding and best- preserved treasures are the standing astadikpalas on the central façade, standing on lotuses with their mounts below. The temple attracts visitors in droves during the Rajarani Music Festival which is part of the larger Ekamra Utsav held in December.

Siddheswar -Mukteswar Temples 
The twin temples of Siddheswar-Mukteswar within a single complex date back to the 10th century and stand as a significant transition point between the early and later phases of the Kalinga architectural style of temple building.
The 35-foot Mukteswar temple, built of sandstone, is considered one of the crowning glories of Oriyan architecture. The temples display an aesthetic blend of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture, especially in their detailed carvings which narrate tales from the Panchatantra and carry animal figurines. The temple’s jagmohana or porch is a masterpiece, bedecked with an eight-petalled lotus carved ceiling. The standing figure of Ganesha is majestic and arresting in the Siddheswar Temple, the sanctum of which is built in the pancha ratha style, surrounded by five- divisional walls. The walls themselves are decorated with ornamental motifs and consist of seven mouldings. ‘Hers of miniature turrets adorn the temple tower which holds aloft four lions, one on each corner.

Hirapur Chausath Yogini Temple
At the time when parts of ancient India were in the throes of the tantric cult, the central and eastern regions of the country witnessed the construction of numerous mystifying open air shrines. The Chausath Yogini Temple at Hirapur, which lies in close proximity to Bhubaneswar, is one of only four such surviving temples. The ninth-century hypaethral shrine, a circular-shaped edifice with no roof, is dedicated to 64 female spirits or ‘yoginis.’ Locally known as Mahamaya Mandir, the east-facing temple was discovered by Kedarnath Mahapatra of the Odisha State Museum in 1953. While the 10-armed Mahamaya Devi is the presiding deity, one of the most interesting and exceptional sculptures in the temple is that of Ekapada Shiva, or one-legged Shiva.

Konark Sun Temple 
The Konark Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was constructed in the 13th century by King Narasimhadeva. It was conceived as an ode to the Sun God in the form of a chariot. It stands on 24 intricately sculpted stone wheels of gargantuan proportions and is hauled by seven mighty horses. The edifice is embellished with a profusion of sculptures on its interior and exterior walls. Three surviving images of Surya are designed to capture the rays of the sun at dawn, noon and sunset. It took the labour of 1,200 artisans and 12 years to complete. Rabindranath Tagore wrote of Konark: “Here the language of stone surpasses the language of man.” During the annual Konark Dance Festival, held against the backdrop of the temple, Konark becomes a veritable smorgasbord of art and culture.

Puri Jagannath Temple 
One of the Char Dhams or four sacred places of worship, the temple of Jagannath in Puri is built on a gigantic raised platform in the heart of the city. The temple complex is enclosed by a wall that is pierced by four gates with pyramidal structures over them. The east-facing Lions Gate leads to a vast open area, in the centre of which is the 11-metre-high monolithic pillar, known locally as the Aruna Stambha, with the figure of Aruna, the Sun God’s charioteer. This pillar was once in front of the Sun Temple in Konark. It was brought to Pun during the 18th century. Sprawled across 10.7 acres, the temple complex, built in the Kalinga style, is enclosed by two walls—the outer Meghanada Prachira, and the inner Kurma Bheda. The main sanctum is surrounded by 30 shrines of varying sizes. At the acme of the temple tower is the Nila Chakra or blue wheel, crafted from an alloy of eight metals, to which is attached the temple flag. 

The temple of Jagannath is considered one of the tallest monuments in the Indian subcontinent and rises 214 feet from the ground. The construction of the monument was initiated by King Chora Ganga Deva and completed during the reign of his 12th-century descendnt, Ananga Bhima Deva. The Rath Yatra in June-July is the temple’s flagship festival.

Barabati Fort 
The once glorious nine-storeyed palace within the 14th- century Barabati Fort in Cuttack on the bank of the Mahanadi is today a mound of ruins but for its gate, moat and a mosque. One can catch glimpses of the walls of the fort, built of sandstone and latenite. The gate still reveals some attractive carvings. The fort became an Archaeological Survey of India- protected site in 1915.
Deemed the culmination of the art and architecture of Odisha, it reveals a square plan, spread over 102 acres and surrounded by a paved moat of uniform dimensions. Flanking the mound of ruins in the centre are the Shahi Mosque and mazar of Hazrat Ali Bukhari. Purushottamdeva, the son of the Suryavanshi king, Kapilendradeva, brought an idol of Lord Krishna from Andhra Pradesh and installed it in a temple in the font. However, only a portion of the temple remains. Next to the fort ruins is the Barabati Stadium and close by is the Katak Chandi temple.

For more details: Pilgrimage Tour India and Festival Tour India

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A Sublime Experience

Odisha, with its beaches, temples, Buddhist sites and marvellous wildlife, harbours tremendous appeal for every kind of traveller. Cradled between the sun-kissed beaches of the Bay of Bengal and the dense forests of the Eastern Ghats, Odisha, the land of temples, is an experience that is at once sublime and aesthetically invigorating.

Nature 

Chilika Lake 
Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon with estuarine character, Chilika is a wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian subcontinent. It offers tourists a spectacular display of avian acrobatics by over 160 species in a myriad hues in the peak season between November and February.

The Chilika Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over 1,100 sq km, is one of the most important wetlands in the world, being home to a number of threatened species of plants and animals, and an extraordinary variety of resident and migratory birds. Its Nalabana Island, which covers 16 sq km of the lagoon area, teems with nesting birds that include flamingos, ospreys, golden plovers, sandpipers, white- bellied sea eagles, Brahminy kites, spotbilled pelicans, spoonbills, avocets, and ibises from Central Asia, Iran and Siberia. The sanctuary also envelopes in its verdant folds blackbuck, chital, golden jackals, hyenas and several other feline and canine species. While Chilika is an ecosystem with large fishery resources and boasts a wealth of marine life, including 225 or more species of fishes, crabs, prawns and limbless lizards, it is particularly famed for the Irrawady dolphins. Purshottam Das, a poet-saint of odisha and ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath, wrote a poem on Lord Krishna 400 years ago. The ode describes Krishna dancing with Maniki, a milkmaid who was vending curd on the shore of Chilika. Even today, one may see the Manikagauda village in the lagoon!

Bhitarkanika
Bhitarkanika is derived from two oriya words—’Bhitar’ meaning interior and ‘Kanika’ meaning that which is extraordinarily beautiful. Three rivers, Brahmin, Baitarani and Patasala, flow out to sea at Bhitarkanika, forming a tidal maze of muddy creeks and mangroves. Bhitarkanika, a hot-spot of biodiversity, covers 672 sq km of mangrove forests and wetland. It is home to the largest population of giant salt water crocodiles in India, earning the status of a crocodile sanctuary. Hundreds of massive estuarine crocodiles bask on mudflats. The sanctuary is also one of the largest rookeries for Olive Ridley sea turtles, and the second largest viable mangrove ecosystem in the country with over 70 varieties of mangroves that serve as a nesting ground for its large migratory avian population. 

It is deemed one of Asia’s most impressive wildlife sanctuaries with a crisscrossing network of brooks, rivers, estuaries, backwaters and mudflats, with the Bay of Bengal on the east. An ideal trekking, camping and picnic site, Bhitarkanika is accessed only by boat. Birdwatchers and photography buffs will have a field day, capturing eight species of brilliantly coloured kingfishers, in addition to other bird species.

Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary 

The first and only marine sanctuary of Odisha, it stretches from the Dhamra river mouth in the north to the Mahanadi river mouth in the south and forms part of the Bhitarkanika National Park. It comprises mudflats, mangroves and sea beaches, covering 1,408 sq km. Since time immemorial, the virgin sandy beaches of the sanctuary have served as a hatchery for the Olive Ridley sea turtles that migrate en masse from the Indian ocean during the winter. Tens of thousands of turtles congregate on the sands of Gahirmatha until the end of March. In view of its ecological importance and to protect the sea turtles, the government of Odisha declared Gahirmatha a turtle sanctuary in 1979.

Simlipal National Park

The Simlipal National Park, once a hunting preserve of the Mayurbhanj maharajas, is a wildlife haven at an altitude of 559.31 m, and one of India’s biggest tiger sanctuaries, extending over 2,750 sq km within a larger 4,374-sq-km biosphere reserve. Since 2009, it has been a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Simlipal, which is set on a wide expanse of sal forests, has innumerable medicinal and aromatic plants that serve as a source of income for its tribal population. It derives its name from the abundance of simul or red silk cotton trees that bloom here. It is an expansive blend of the Western Ghat, Eastern Ghat and sub-Himalayan floral species and boasts an astonishing 1,076 varieties of flowers and 96 species of orchids.

With variegated topography studded with perennial streams, rivers, waterfalls, gorges, valleys and peaks, Simlipal is home to a range of wild animals, fishes and birds. It is home to three of India’s biggest animal species—the tiger, Asian elephant and gaur. Simlipal is famed for Project Tiger, initiated in May 1973 and the Mugger Crocodile Scheme that began in 1979.
With its undulating hilly terrain, Simlipal offers all grades of trekking challenges to adventure-seekers.

Ushakothi Wildlife Sanctuary

The Badrama Wildlife Sanctuary, more popularly known by the town where it is located, Ushakothi, is between the Wardha and Penganga rivers. According to legend, sage Vashisht created the Wardha river which also goes by the name of River Vashisht. Ushakothi, declared a sanctuary in 1962, is filled with deciduous forests of casuarina, arjun, sal, acacia and neem trees.

Enjoy a jeep safari in the depths of its jungles and observe up close the panthers for which the sanctuary is famed, besides tigers, hyenas, wild boar and a host of other animals. If you are lucky, you could spot sloth bears who make their way to the water-bodies at night. Capture on your digital devices from atop one of the two 30-foot watch towers the beauty of the wilderness, the creatures of the jungle, and the racquet-tailed drongos and flying squirrels which are the prime attractions.

Satkosia Gorge and Wildlife Sanctuary

Satkosia, at the confluence of the Deccan peninsula and the Eastern Ghats, has an exclusive geomorphology as the Mahanadi plunges through the Eastern Ghats to form a 22-km gorge. The Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary spans
1,330 sq km and was established in 1976. It was declared a tiger reserve in 2007, comprising the Satkosia Gorge and Baisipalli Sanctuaries, spread over Angul, Budh, Cuttack and Nayagarh districts of Odisha. The Mahanadi elephant reserve and the Gharial Breeding Project are significant aspects of the sanctuary. Covered with dry deciduous forests and moist peninsular sal forests, the sanctuary is a natural habitat for a host of wild creatures, including muggers, fresh water turtles and a variety of snakes.

Gopalpur —on-Sea 
Gopalpur-on-Sea is a port city with pristine beaches fringed by coconut groves and casuarinas. The small town is picturesque with rolling hills descending dramatically upon the Bay of Bengal. Gopalpur offers sailing, surfing, scuba diving, rowing and swimming. In addition, you can go out to sea in paddle boats and on water scooters. 

Catch a glimpse of the glorious history of the once- humming seaport, palpable from the crumbling walls and pillars of the jetty. The town, which was left to slide into history by the British, was rediscovered by holidaymakers from Bengal in the early 1980s. The annual Gopalpur Beach Festival in December sees the town thrum with activity.

Puri Beach

 
This beach has become synonymous with devotees who bathe here before offering obeisance to its deity, Jagannath, and his siblings at the temple. The Beach Festival that takes place in November draws beach-lovers from India and abroad. The sand sculptures, especially by the world acclaimed artist, Sudarshan Patnaik, add their own magic. The beach at Pun is unique in that it offers stunning views of both sunrise and sunset. With its warm sea-lapped beach that abounds in water sports, Pun offers a sublime as well as invigorating experience to tourists and vacationers.

For more details: Budget Tours India & Wildlife Tour India

Khajuraho Etched in Stone

Khajuraho—it’s the stuff of Indian travel brochures. You’ve heard and read all about the place, now it’s time to go and see it in all its glory. Situated some 175 km from Jhansi in Madhya Pradesh.  Khajuraho, if not for its celebrated temples, would be another nondescript village in this part of the country. But the temples bestow on the place a heritage that is rich and unique. The Khajuraho Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are amongst the most beautiful medieval monuments in the world, housing temple art crafted with expert artistry and a fine aesthetic sensibility. 

Originally a group of 85, they are the largest group of Hindu and Jain temples in the world, although only about 25 of them remain today. These magnificent temples were built by the Chandela rulers between AD 900 and 1150, and have withstood years of neglect, still standing testimony to the golden era of a dynasty. 

The temples themselves are perfectly proportioned and the religious carvings evoke awe and wonder. What draws most visitors to Khajuraho, though, are the erotic sculptures that impress with their grace and boldness. As you walk amidst these ancient works of art, you are bound to contemplate that there was a time in India when women were empowered and unfettered and when living and loving were a celebration. 

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A Canvas White

There are places that make your think of the end of the world – or perhaps a new beginning. The Rann of Kutch in Gujarat is a land unlike any: stark and beautiful with a mesmerising dash of colour.

There are 20 of us on the bus. The front rows are cribbing about the journey that I have supposedly dragged them into. Despite the occasional sarcastic remark, I am happy. I’ve done this before, and know what to expect. I’ve told them, “Wait till that road comes up. And you’re surrounded on both sides by nothing.” I know what to expect. I’ve seen this before. Then again, I haven’t. Or maybe my brain has suppressed this memory. Stored it away, slyly showing me glimpses but never the entire truth.

The road from Ahmedabad to Dholavira is straight—the occasional turns and u-turns come mostly as we near the destination. It’s flat. Mostly arid, spotted with the occasional farm and, farther on, salt production units. Marshes being harvested for salt. There are about 30 km left when, suddenly, everything goes white. On both sides of a double laned road, the landscape is unending, blank, reflecting the glare of the sun straight into your eyes. The sun is high in the sky but descending, for it is afternoon. The Rann has finally arrived. There is silence in the bus. Everyone is gazing out, looking at the white. Scarily beautiful. Majestic and unending. Why did the residents of the third oldest Indus Valley Civilisation site (after Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro) put themselves on an island? This was sea then. Leading to nothing. Why would they put themselves so far from land?

Bhim Raoji guides us through the site very meticulously and dutifully. He has been here since the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) first started excavating the site, and learnt what he knows from the banter he caught and, later, from the archaelogists themselves. “This big cylinder,” he pats a column-like structure, actually a sphere shaped like an hourglass, “was the base for a massive statue of a man sitting. It is now in Delhi.” Unlike Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, Dholavira was constructed with a specific architectural plan, he tells us. There was a guided structure, a citadel, a middle town and a lower town. He guides us past several small ‘houses’ in the citadel, a huge reservoir for water, a sewer system that could put to shame Mumbai and several other cities in India, and then shows the coup degráce. Except, there isn’t much to see. He points towards a spot, covered up right now for restoration, where the artefact sat. It was a signboard. The most complex and longest arrangement of the Harappan script found to date. The Harappans had arranged and set pieces of gypsum to form 10 large symbols or letters on a big wooden board. This, too, resides in Delhi.

Dholavira’s beauty isn’t in the site itself. It’s not beautiful, honestly. Most visitors are disappointed. It seems like a pile of rocks, with the occasional recognisable column or wall. A mound of dirt, surrounded by the white sand. There is a corner of the site compound, where the wall is at its highest, marked by trees. Once upon a time, that was perhaps the sighting point for a sentry in the citadel and it provides the best vantage point, even today, of the surrounding Rann. That great white desert, a parched earth, that was water aeons before we ended up there.

Soon, an avalanche of schoolchildren floats into the site. There are at least 100 and, true to their teenaged, enthusiatic, exuberant physiology, they keep chattering away among themselves, screaming, shouting, pointing at stuff and creating a din in the middle of nowhere. For a minute you kid yourself and try to put this situation in a time several millennia past, and imagine the din to be that of a buzzing marketplace within the citadel walls. Then, one kid pulls out a selfie stick. The drive back is long. Much longer than the drive in. We aren’t going back. We are off to Bhuj, to the south, for a glimpse of the ‘actual’ Rann. For the Rann Utsav. Two months of festival in the middle of the desert. Accommodation in luxury tents, beautiful sunsets and sunrises and several means of experiencing Kutchi art, craft and culture in between.

We pause to watch the sun set. It is undeniably beautiful, unreplicable in pictures. With or without Photoshop. A travesty if there was one. The sky is a bowl of water, the sun a tablet of paint, throwing colours and patterns which swirl around till they rest at the bottom. There is no order to this. Purple follows pink, follows yellow, follows blue, follows another yellow, and, wait, is that green! Again, this too, is unreplicable. Graphic artist be warned, kitsch is only allowed to nature.

By the time we get to the Rann itself—in Dhordo, where the tent city is pitched for the season—it is past midnight and cold. We rush to our tents and burrow in for the night. Not for too long, though, I promise myself. There is a sunrise to be caught.

There are two things that define the Rann of Kutch for what it is, the great white salt desert, and the Kutchi people, among the most artistic—and colourful—in the world. Someone reminds me that there is also the gadkhar, the wild ass, the symbol of Gujarat that never will be. There is an argument to be made for this, my far more knowledgeable friend tells me. He raves on about how the lion is an inappropriate symbol, and how it signifies only pride and arrogance, but I’ve lost him midway (he keeps it up, and I agree with him eventually), watching the sun rise. 

Some may say that it is the stark whiteness of the Rann that makes the Kutchi people embellish their attire with bright, unapologetic colour. They are right. But, let us, for the sake of romance and the silliness, not throw out the theory that maybe, they don’t design their clothes to stand out on the earth as much as they do to mimic their morning skies. It’s crazy and untrue, but believable. 

This is another specialty of the Rann Utsav. The enormous hit of Kutchi culture it gives you. The utsav is a handicraft haven where you can buy from the artisans themselves. The stalls are full of mirror-worked clothes, handmade footwear and bead jewellery, most of which will not be available elsewhere in Gujarat. 

In the day, we visit Hodka, a small artist village a short drive from the tent city. There are two parts to Hodka. One is the actual village, where the artisans and craftsmen live. There is the cattle, a water reserve, khats strewn about and the occasional resident smiling at you from their homes. 

The second part is the guest village. Visitors can, for a fee (3,5OO a day for a one-room, air-conditioned hut called a bhunga, along with three meals) live in the middle of the community and learn the crafts that sustain their lives. 

Most of the leading craftsmen are craftswomen. Baya Bai, one of the best in the village, has featured in a French newspaper. There is a picture of her at work, accompanying the piece. She is one of the most skilled applique artists in the community. She is also the proud owner of five bhungas. A massive win for women in a community that doesn’t even allow free communication between genders.

 

Another woman opens the door to an innocuous-looking hut for the gathering. The kaleidoscope of handicrafts is enormous: wood carving, pottery, lac-ware, stuffed toys of dancers and camels and turbaned riders on horses, and bells. As we walk into another village later, almost all the huts lay out a spread for us. It seems almost rude to buy from one when they are all equally beautiful. Maybe I could buy a village, I remark to a fellow traveller. Sure, and soon they’ll be dressing their ware in pastels, he says as he walks away. 

I understand his cynicism. You cannot possibly imagine designing or visualising these colours if you aren’t from here.

(Facing page)The ruins of the ancient civilisation of lJholavira; the landscape 

of Kutch is stark and barren, yet evocative and picturesque; (this page) a handc rafted bag on a colourful door in Dhordo 

They do not belong anywhere, but here. When I get back, I look at my purchases from the craft stalls to find a sombre red and grey shawl and an assortment of little mementos in the bright hues of Kutch. They are too crazily-coloured for the city. Too kitschy, too absurd and too surreal for the grey cityscape. My friends happily lap them up. I keep the shawl.

Evenings in the Rann are mostly melancholic. A walk is in order, and the tourism department has smartly built a thin, wooden footpath (almost like a galley plank) that leads into the salt marsh itself. The more adventurous step off the plank and walk on the salt. Your first step seems like it’s on snow. A gentle crunch and then it settles. Almost everyone bends down to pick up the crystals, scrutinising them, making sure they aren’t being conned. No, this is salt. It was water years ago. Not anymore. 

It is the opening day of the festival. At one point, just as the sun is setting, the expanse of people almost seems like an exodus. There are camel carts and c/zak/as (motorcycle rickshaws) ferrying people around. A song and dance exhibition is taking place in another corner of the Rann, a few kilometres away. Occasionally, the sound filters through. 

The real utsav, though, is here in the vastness of the Rann, with the moon shining above you, a wind blowing across your face, and an eerie silence despite the huge crowd. You would travel across the world for a few minutes of this.

For more details: Budget Tour India & North India Tour

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On a String and a Song

The puppet traditions of India are richly diverse and historical. Puppetry is an intricate and colorful folk art that has been handed down the generations.

Puppetry takes many forms in the process of animating objects through human agency. As objects deciphering meanings within a narrative structure and as characters brought alive through artistic brilliance, puppets— within a system of language—operate as agencies of revelation. 

The earliest reference to puppetry is found in the Tamil classic, Silappadikaaram, written around the 2nd century BC. In the Buddhist work, Therigatha, there are references to various kinds of puppets as also in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. ‘Sutradhara’ in classical Indian theater literally means ‘holder of strings’ and refers to the one who introduces and directs the play. Puppet theater has been in existence in India for thousands of years to entertain and teach people about Hindu religious heroes. Archaeologists at Harappa and Mohenjodaro in the Indus Valley discovered parts of clay dolls with holes for strings, supporting the theory that puppet theater existed more than 5,000 years ago.

Perhaps the origins of puppetry can be dated back to the prehistoric period when Man, living in caves, was enamored of the dancing shadows cast on the walls by his cooking fires, perceiving himself and his fellow beings, with all their gestures and attempts at communication, replicated visually upon the cave walls. This seems to be the genesis of Man’s efforts to recreate his own likeness. Images and idols were also used for shamanic rituals, to appease malevolent natural forces.

The religious aspects of puppetry developed especially in South India Tour when shadow puppets performed stories and episodes from the epics and the Bhagavat Purana. Puppets have featured in major religious festivals like Shivratri at the Srisailam Temple of Andhra Pradesh as indigenous entertainment. Tolpava Koothu, a puppet play of Kerala, is performed as part of the annual festival in temples of Bhagavati or Bhadrakali in Palghat, Kerala.

The sense of sacredness of the puppets could be discerned from the fact that they enacted stories and episodes taken from the epics and the Puranas, and also deriving from local beliefs. Disfigured or torn puppets are never kept along with intact puppets. Once the puppets can no longer be presented to audiences due to excessive wear and tear, after appropriate worship they are either consigned to the river or symbolically cremated. In some puppet traditions, the marking of eyes on the puppet, which signifies the infusion of life into it, is observed with sacrifices. The puppets are also worshiped on certain religious occasions.

As a ritual, puppeteers regularly apply Neem or eucalyptus oil on the puppets. This acts as a protective agent against insects and fungus. For the puppeteers, the puppets are not merely theatrical devices to earn a livelihood but revered objects deserving care. In certain puppet traditions of India, the performers fasted before the show and sacrifices were made while putting up posts for the erection of stages. Such proceedings invested the performance of puppets with an aura of mystic ritual. Puppet theater also serves as a means of spreading religious ethos and beliefs through the enactment of plays with religious themes. Apart from providing entertainment, puppet shows disseminate important ethical lessons, especially through the portrayal of conflict between good and evil and the ultimate victory of the former.

While anyone can move a puppet, it needs a skilled puppeteer to lend life to it. In India, puppetry is a living tradition and 18 different forms of puppetry exist, belonging to 11 states. There are mainly four genres of puppetry commonly found—shadow puppets, rod puppets, string puppets and glove puppets. Shadow puppets are one- dimensional—flat cut-outs of paper or leather that are projected against a tightly stretched white cloth screen so that the audience sees the shadow of the puppet on this screen. Shadow puppets are found in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. Glove puppets are also known as hand puppets. In this form, the puppeteer wears the puppet like a glove and fits his fingers into the hollow head of the puppet and controls its movements. This form of puppetry is found commonly in Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The rod puppets, often larger than glove puppets, are supported and controlled by rods of various types and sizes. Rod puppets are commonly found in Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. String puppets are also known as marionettes, where the body parts of the puppets are connected through strings which are used to control their movement. This form of puppetry is prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. While Rajasthani puppets—Kathputli—seem to be omnipresent, other forms are equally colorful!

Kathputli-Rajasthani String Puppets 

According to an Indian legend, the origin of puppetry is attributed to Brahma (the deity who was assigned the function of creating the universe and is the first of the Hindu Trinity). It is said that, for the entertainment of his consort, Saraswati, Brahma created and gave life to the Adi, the first nat or puppeteer. He then created another figure for the Adi to manipulate and thereby entertain the goddess. However, Brahma was not very pleased with his efforts and he banished the puppeteer to Earth. Hence the birth of the first bhat. It is conjectured that this legend might have originated in Rajasthan Tours since the nat bhats are the caste of puppeteers belonging to the region.

Kathputlis are like large wooden dolls—carved from a single piece and dressed rather colorfully. Their large eyes, arched eyebrows and well-defined lips give these puppets a life-like appearance. The garments are inspired by the traditional colorful attire of medieval Rajasthan that is popular even today. The Kathputlis are made to ‘dance’ with two to five strings that are tied to a puppeteer’s fingers, which he moves to make the puppets dance animatedly. The stories performed by the natbhats range from tales based on reworkings of the epics to legends espousing the heroism and valour of the local heroes. The narratives of Amar Singh Rathore, Prithviraj Chauhan and Dhola-Maru are popular folk legends interpreted through puppetry.

Bahulya—Maharashtra’s string puppets Bahuli means a doll and its plural is bahulya. Most bahulyakars or puppeteers usually belong to nomadic tribes and are always on the move, taking their puppets and theater equipment with them wherever they go. The puppets are made of clay or carved from the light wood of the pangara or coral tree. According to the character represented, the height varies from 20 to 45 cm. Each figure is divided into two sections. Leather puppets are called Chamadyachya Bahulya or Chamadi Chitre and string puppets are called Kalasutri Bahulya. The performances usually start with an invocation to Lord Ganesh and Saraswati. In bahulya, stories are mostly narratives centered around the elephant-headed god, Ganesh, and his exploits though legends of Chhatrapati Shivaji also abound. Stories from the Ramayana are an all-time favorite. This is one form of puppetry that needs a desperate boost as it is on the verge of dying out.

Pavakathakali—Kerala Glove Puppets 

In Kerala, the traditional glove puppet play is called Pavakoothu or Pavakathakali. This form, that came into Besides its artistic side, puppetry also has cultural significance, especially in South India, where shadow puppets are used to enact stories from the epics existence during the 18th century is believed to be heavily influenced by Kathakali, the classical dance-drama of Kerala. The height of Pavakathakali puppets varies from one to two feet. The head and the arms are carved of wood and joined together with thick cloth, cut and stitched into a small bag. Legends from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata constitute the more popular narratives.

Ravanachhaya—Oriya Shadow Puppets 

Ravanachhaya is one of the most dramatic forms of puppetry since it relies on the interplay of light and shadows. The puppets are joint-less and are made in one whole piece out of deerskin leather. They are not colored, hence they throw opaque shadows on the screen. Apart from human and animal characters, many props such as trees, mountains, chariots and so on are also used. Although Ravanachhaya puppets are smaller in size, the largest not more than two feet, since they have no-joint limbs they throw very sensitive and lyrical shadows.

Tholu Bommalata—Andhra Pradesh 

Andhra Pradesh’s shadow theater has a rich and strong tradition. These shadow puppets differ from Odisha’s shadow puppets in that they are not only colored on both sides but also have joints at the waist, shoulders, elbows and knees. Being coloured, they throw colored shadows on the screen. The themes derive from the Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata and the music is influenced by the classical music of the region. The manipulators of these shadow puppets in Andhra Pradesh are known as Pulavars—meaning scholars or poets—emphasizing the respect accorded to them.

Baner Putul, West Bengal 

Puppetry has a rich tradition in Bengal that thrives not only on epic stories, but also Bengali literature and now even contemporary issues such as AIDS awareness, female infanticide and so on. Baner Putul, or dolls of commercial people, is a form of puppetry most popular in southern West Bengal. The puppeteers characteristically belong to the scheduled caste of Kahar, the palanquin-bearers of yore. The puppets are nearly two feet high, with terracotta heads and wooden arms. The puppeteers sing songs during the show and play small drums called domru to attract crowds. The puppets have anklets fixed on the arms, which are used to keep rhythm by clapping. There are pairs of male and female puppets manipulated by the puppeteers with both hands. The themes are based on social events such as linguistic differences, escapades of lovers, and even family planning. The puppeteer begins his career early in life and roams from fair to fair, charging money for each song.

Bommalattam—String Puppets of Tamil Nadu 

Bommalattam, the puppet theater of Tamil Nadu, combines the techniques of both rod and string puppets. They are made of wood and the strings for manipulation are tied to an iron ring which the puppeteer wears like a crown on his head. A few puppets have joint arms and hands, which are manipulated by rods. The Bommalattam puppets are the largest, heaviest and most articulate of all traditional Indian marionettes. Bommalattam performances are given in villages and temples to ensure rain as well as to placate the gods to prevent outbreak of disease. The puppeteers perform ritualistic sacrifices before fashioning the puppets and also once they are complete. While making characters like Ravana, Kali and the like, fowls are sacrificed and the puppets are given a black tinge as the final touch.

Bommalattam theater has elaborate preliminaries which are divided into four parts—Vinayak puja, Komali, Amanattam and Pusenkanattam. 

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Panchgani Call of the Monuments

There’s a reason why the British chose Panchgani as a favourite summer resort. Make that many reasons. The name means five hills and the beautiful mountains make this the perfect getaway from Mumbai when you want respite from the noise, heat and pace of the city. The mountain air is pure and Panchgani enjoys mild weather through the year. As winter creeps up, it turns colder, adding to its charms. So, pull on your warm clothes and head for the higher climes of Panchgani, where you can take quiet walks amidst woods where the silver oak stands. At this time of year, the poinsettia begins to bloom as well, brightening the hillside with its hues.

While slowing down and watching the mist roll across the mountains is most people’s idea of a break in Panchgani, there’s plenty to do and see as well. Sydney Point, situated on a hillock facing the Krishna Valley, is a perfect spot from which to take in views of the Dhom Dam and Pandavgad. Visit also Table Land, an imposing expanse of laterite rock, considered the second longest mountain plateau in Asia. Stop for scenic views at Parsi Point en route Mahabaleshwar. Devil’s Kitchen, at the southern end of Table Land, is wrapped in myth and worth taking a look at. It is believed that the Pandavas made the place their home for a while and also created the Pandavgad caves nearby. 

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