On the last day of the ninth International Folk Puppet Festival of Contemporary and Traditional Puppetry at the Rafi Peer Theatre, puppeteer Khairaiti Ram Bhat talked about the India-Pakistan cultural divide. Bhat, one of the most prominent performers of the 1000-year-old craft of Rajasthani puppetry, who had flown in for the five-day celebration that entertained 25,000 viewers, says sometimes change and flexibility are synonymous to success.
The puppeteer who has travelled to Pakistan in the past, stressed on the fact that Pakistani puppeteers need to come out of their shells and start experimenting more because the times are changing. He believes that no one can afford stagnation in today’s world and change has become as important as breathing.
Bhat, who himself had to alter his approach to cope up with trends, says, “I have been associated with this art for decades, but still I changed my technique and approach just to reinvent myself and my skill.”
The puppeteer recalls that while he was still in his apprentice stage, demand for puppet entertainment was high and he used to tour all over India with his grandfather and father. Now his descendents, his son and grandson, carry on the tradition by playing the harmonium, singing and puppeteering and cater to a flickering demand.
Bhat explains that puppetry was an important tradition in that area but with the advent of television, the demand of puppetry started fading away. As a result, the art was almost on the verge of dying, which is why he and his counterparts had to modify their performances.
Winds of change
“Puppetry was dying and puppeteers could sense joblessness and eventual poverty looming over our heads,” says Bhat. “A point came when we were going around begging people to let us perform for them. Then a friend suggested that we should bring about changes in our performances.”
It was during this time, Bhat explains, that he brought innovation and created the double-sided doll. The doll, which was man on one side and woman on the other, brought something new to the performances and rekindled the audience’s interest in puppet shows.
This advancement combined with greater government support rescued puppet dancing. During Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandi’s government, Bhat was selected along several other puppeteers to perform at an arts festival in Paris. This opportunity provided him with national acclaim and allowed him to revive his puppetry career. Bhat now proudly shares that he earns INR100,000 per performance and also sells the puppets that his family makes. Additionally, he received a piece of land in 1984 from the Indian government as a reward for his services.
Need for modernity
Bhat explains that Pakistani Rajasthan puppetry is not doing well because puppeteers don’t want to update this 850 year-old tradition. “We [Indian puppeteers] haven’t abandoned the old techniques completely, we have just modernised them a bit,” says the puppeteer. “Even though I believe all puppeteers are one big family, Pakistani puppeteers are lagging behind because they are still adopting the traditional ways and not moving on.”
He adds that it is important that puppeteers push their governments for support. “I think if you to move forward, opportunities start flocking around you automatically,” says Bhat. “If Pakistani puppeteers take me as their competition than I guess it’s a good thing because we are one big family and I want someone to go further than me.”
Performers who showcased their talent at the festival
The Theatret Lamp group from Denmark
The Apple Tree group from Iran
Kherati Ram Bhat group from Rajasthan
The Theatre of Shadows from France
Bashir Dhamali, Muhammad Shafi, Bahadura, Khalid Hussain, Billo Maee, Muhammad Abdullah, Muhammad Afzal, Bahdur Ali from Punjab and Sindh
Published in The Express Tribune, March 27th, 2012.
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