Mysuru:  The Tourism Department is always ready to promote art and culture that promotes tourism in city, and in this direction, a National-level Puppet Festival will be organised shortly, said Tourism Department Deputy Director S. Janardhan.

Speaking after inaugurating the puppet show by Mysuru Puppet Theatre organised at Ramsons Kala Pratishtana’s Bombe Mane, 91, Amarapali, Nazarbad Main Road, recently, he said that since the time of the Maharajas, art, culture, agriculture and industries have always been given encouragement.

Among these, there is a lot of scope for tourism activities and development in and around Mysuru, which can be utilised properly and it is our responsibility to protect them, he said.

The dolls that are on sale at ‘Bombe Mane’ are not just attractive but many of them even carry a rich tradition, history and mythology.

Besides, the Ramsons Kala Pratishtana giving importance to the rich puppet art is a very laudable development, as Tourism Department always responds to such initiatives,said Janardhan. 

On the occasion, senior artiste Rangoli Srikantha-led Pupeteers team presented ‘Sri Krishna Parijatha,’ that attracted the discerning audience. Artistes Mahesh, Raghavendra, Anith, Achuta Murthy, Dhanush, Puttaraju, Ganesh and Mahadev participated. 

D. Ram Singh of Ramsons Kala Pratishtana, well-known astrologer and priest Dr. V. Bhanuprakash Sharma of Shashwati Dharmika Kriya Samiti (Srirangapatna) and others were present.

Puppet Theatre

Puppet Theatre, once the mainstay of entertainment at village fairs across the country, will once again weave its magic spell at the ‘Bombe Mane’ from Sept.20 to Oct.3. 

In a release, Rangoli Srikantha, Director, Mysuru Puppet Theatre (MPT), said that his troupe of puppeteers will be presenting three episodes from the Bhavagata — Sri Krishna Parijata, Sri Krishna Tulabhara and Narakasura Vadha.

Srikantha’s great-grandfather, Narasinga Rao was considered to be a master in this form of puppetry in which the puppet is manipulated with three strings and two iron rods. The puppeteer then becomes an extension of the puppet itself.

The renowned Narasinga Rao had performed several times before the Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. His grandson M.R. Ranganatha Rao (grand-uncle of Srikantha) followed in his grandfather’s footsteps. Such was Ranganatha Rao’s renown that Czarina of culture, the late Kamala Devi Chattopadhyaya, visited his hometown Magadi to admire the collection of wooden puppets and urge him to train others in this art form.

Keeping his promise to Kamala Devi, Ranganatha Rao has trained many youngsters to become professional puppeteers who have established some well-known puppet theatres in and around Bengaluru. Srikantha, his new disciple, has set up Mysuru Puppet Theatre, he said.

Puppetry also helps in psychological therapies, say Psychiatrists. It is in these areas that Mysuru Puppet Theatre would like to involve itself in various schools, said Srikantha in the release.