World Puppetry Day: Where does the art form stand in Pakistan today?

Veterans of the art form discuss the plight of it in the country

LAHORE: March 21 marks the World Puppetry Day around the globe. Amid the chaos caused by a global pandemic, the artists involved in this unique craft hope to bring light to the importance of it – not just for entertainment, but also social awareness.

In line with celebrations around the globe, World Puppetry Day is celebrated with much fanfare in the Pakistani puppetry industry as well, however, this year is not quite the same. Much like other entertainment industries, puppetry has also suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan.

Where in past years a festival was routinely organised to keep the art alive, this year it could not see the light of day – the threat of coronavirus is too real to ignore, hence the festival, organised by the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop has been cancelled.



“In every era and period of humanity, puppet art performances have been consistent. This form of art has played an important role for awareness, entertainment, education and guidance of society,” says renowned writer, Tasneem Pirzada. Her words echo reality – puppetry has long been a staple in Pakistan as well. Many puppet art groups from around the world have even performed at various festivals in the country, including at the World Performing Arts Festival organised by Rafi Peer Theatre Group.

“It’s always been a big source of entertainment in every society – when people become sick and there is no other form of entertainment or expression, it aids the society,” adds Tasneem. However, one sad reality, as she notes, are the restrictions imposed on art forms in the country which severely affect this particular art form.

"Puppet art faces major issues in our country - there are many problems at different levels in promoting it too. This is a beautiful art-form but we don’t do enough for it here for its promotion - we don’t even train people in this regard,” says Sadaan Pirzada, CEO of Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop. Sadaan’s organisation is perhaps the only one working to promote this unique art in the country, despite the challenges it faces.



“Rafi Pir did a lot for the promotion of puppet art and we have brought delegates and puppet art groups here in the past. We are still doing our best - we brought in almost 215 puppet performing groups from around 40 countries of the world here recently and have also established a puppet museum. Not just that, but we also perform in far flung areas of the country for the sake of entertainment. We are doing the best in our capacity,” explains Sadaan.

“The government is hesitant to fund the promotion of puppetry and we are moving forward on our own efforts. It is our passion, thus we are doing the effort to revive puppet culture here without any support. However, it is high time that we realise that puppet art can be a big source to create awareness in our society,” he adds.

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