GUWAHATI, Jan 17 - Puppetry, once a very popular performing art form of the State, had been witness to many ups and downs over the decades. This art form, which has its own distinctive language and animation, not only provides entertainment to the audience but also serves an educative purpose, for which attempts have been made for its revival.
Apart from the puppet theatre groups, several organisations and cultural groups have been regularly holding workshops and shows to popularise the art form amongst the new generation.
According to Antaranga, an organisation for children art and theatre, puppetry has a wide appeal across the globe and the experimentations that have been integral to contemporary puppet theatre has rekindled the interest of the young and old alike towards this art form.
�Puppetry with its repertoire of mythological tales, popular legends, historical episodes, social issues, old classics and even adaptation from famous novels has spread the relevant messages in the society,� said Antara GG Choudhury of Antaranga, adding that puppetry workshops are becoming popular in view of the keenness displayed by the young generation in learning the art form.
It needs to be mentioned that Birinchi Kumar Barua Memorial Trust in association with Antaranga is organising a contemporary puppetry workshop from February 3 at Baruah Bhavan, Uzanbazar.
The nine-day workshop will start daily at 10 am. It will be conducted by Partha Pratim Paul from West Bengal, a renowned director of many puppet dramas.
�Puppetry has always attracted the attention of the masses with its unique language and presentation. Puppetry has everything � voice, acting, music and dance, there are expressions and emotions and characters, and above all a good script is a must for this art form,� said Choudhury, mentioning that puppetry in Assam has a good scope as there is no dearth of talents in the State. Choudhury further said that puppetry can be incorporated as a tool for teaching as it can reach out to all.
