തോൽപാവക്കൂത്തും സമാന്തര പാരമ്പര്യങ്ങളും / Tholpavakoothu and Parallel Puppetry Traditions | A Presentation by KK Ramachandra Pulavar | Project Showcase@IFA | June 29, 2022

India Foundation for the Arts (IFA)
invites you to
തോൽപാവക്കൂത്തും സമാന്തര പാരമ്പര്യങ്ങളും
Tholpavakoothu and Parallel Puppetry Traditions
A presentation by KK Ramachandra Pulavar
followed by a discussion with MR Vishnuprasad
(The session will be conducted in Malayalam and English)

Wednesday, June 29, 2022 | 06:30 PM – 07:30 PM IST | Zoom and Facebook Live

How can shadow puppetry as an art form interpret mythology for a contemporary audience? How does the shadow puppeteer ask critical questions about gender, conflict, kinship, politics, state and so on, while making contributions to the tradition of puppetry? Can one also acknowledge shadow puppetry as an ancestor of motion pictures, as a medium that explores the play of light and shadows?  

Join us for a presentation by shadow puppeteer KK Ramachandra Pulavar, who will talk about a workshop he led in 2019 near Hosur, Tamil Nadu, which brought together shadow puppeteers from six puppetry traditions  across India to explore contemporary approaches to conceptualising, devising and performing shadow theatre. These puppetry traditions were namely: Tholu Bommalata tradition of Andhra Pradesh, Thol Bommalattam tradition of Tamil Nadu, Ravanchhaya tradition of Odisha, Togalu Gombeyaata tradition of Karnataka, Chamadyache Bahulya tradition of Maharashtra and Tholpavakoothu tradition of Kerala, and were represented by stalwarts in each tradition.

The workshop was conceptualised around four artistic inquiries: narrative, aesthetic, social and technique. In his presentation, KK Ramachandra Pulavar will share his experience of having led the workshop, which will be followed by a conversation with MR Vishnuprasad. 

Padma Shri KK Ramachandra Pulavar is an 11th generation puppeteer belonging to the Tholpavakoothu tradition of shadow puppetry of Kerala. 

MR Vishnuprasad is a Malayalam poet, performance artist and a PhD candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies at School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU.

KK Ramachandra Pulavar received a grant from IFA in 2019-20 under the Arts Practice programme.

This session is organised as part of the Project Showcase @ IFA, a series of online presentations to showcase, discuss, and engage audiences with the diverse projects we support across programmes.

Click here to register for the discussion on Zoom.

The discussion will also be streamed live on our Facebook page, for which no prior registration is required.