Orissa
There are three forms of puppetry prevalent in the state of Orissa. They are the glove (Kundhei-nach), Shadow (Ravanachaya), Rod (Kathi Kundhei) and string (Gopalila kandhei) forms.
In Kundhei nach, the glove puppets are made of three wooden piece consisting of the head and the two hands with holes for inserting fingers. The wooden pieces are joined in a long flowing costume. The costume or the dress also hides the hands of the puppeteers. The puppeteer manipulates the puppet with one hand and plays the dholak (a musical instrument) with the other and narrates stories.
Ravanachhaya: The leather cut-out figures are used in this form of puppetry. Held close to a white cloth screen against an oil-lamp, shadows are distinctly visible to the spectators who sit on the other side. The puppets are fixed to a piece of stick which the manipulator holds below the lower edge of the screen, thereby allowing only the shadow of the puppet to fall on the screen. While the scenic decorative pieces are kept steady, the character puppets are made to move side ways as per the demands and the tempo of the sequences. Episodes from Ramayana are shown. The shadow puppeteers hail from Odasa in the Dhenkanal district of Orissa.
Kathi Kandhe : The puppets in this form are stuck to rods and held aloft and manipulated from below by string. Besides the head, both hands and sometimes the legs are also manipulated. Stories from mythology, fantasy and social themes are adopted for the rod puppet plays while a group of musicians provides the musical interludes. Only one troupe from Keonjhar district perform the show.
Gopalila kandheri The string puppets are wooden half-dolls from head to waist with detachable arms. Down from the waist, there is only a flowing dress. Formerly a mat made of peacock feathers used to be the only back-drop but now painted draperies are being used. String puppetry adopts verse-dramas based on mythology, fantasy and social themes, with plenty of interludes of dance and humorous skits. There are string puppeteers in Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam and Dhenkanal districts.
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