A Kathputli puppet show in progress. A courtesan dances for the entertainment of the Mughal court.
| Prem Bhat | puppeteer |
| Ciriya Bhat | drum, sings |
The puppeteer stands behind the puppets and manipulates them by means of strings held in both hands. He also speaks the puppets' voices. He is not normally visible to the audience: the cloth that usually screens him has been removed for demonstration purposes. The drama is set in the 17th century Mughal court at Delhi; the nobles are lined up at the back of the stage to watch various entertainers. We are permitted to glimpse this fabulous realm through the arches in the front curtain. The courtesan can be seen more clearly in the next picture. The plot of the puppet play concerns Amar Singh, a Rajasthani hero who single-handedly defied the Mughal Emperor and lost his life in the process.
| Date: | 9/3/94 |
| Slides: | K36 (and many others) |
| Tapes: | INP94/7(b) |
Music example: Courtesan's song
The soundscape of the puppet play has several interacting layers. The puppeteer holds a small mirliton in his mouth with which he causes the puppets to shriek in almost constant excitement. He also speaks for them in normal voice when they converse. To one side of the stage sits a male or female drummer (see below) who accompanies on the dholak, sings, and occasionally speaks for the puppets. In this example, exceptionally, the courtesan 'sings' (via the puppeteer's mirliton) along with the accompanist.
The courtesan dances. Because she is bending over in the course of her dance, her face is lower than her raised right hand and arm (blue arrow). Her face is blurred because she is wearing a translucent veil.
The snake-charmer is in the middle foreground; he leans backwards while playing his murli (double reed pipe with enclosed reeds: the typical snake-charmer's instrument) to charm the snake. The further end of the murli can be seen in the next archway, pointing towards the snake. Behind the snake-charmer is the Emperor. This episode usually ends with the snake attacking the snake-charmer, either biting him or, if the puppeteer prefers, coiling itself round him. Similarly the play as a whole centres around a violent quarrel which breaks out between the courtiers at the end. They almost all perish, apart from the Emperor who makes a rapid exit. The dramatic style of the quarrel scene is illustrated in this example, in which the puppeteer plays the mirliton and a male accompanist plays the dholak and speaks the puppets' lines.
| Date: | 9/3/94 |
| Slides: | K36 (and many others) |
| Tapes: | INP94/7(b) |
| Ciriya Bhat | singer and dholak |
The puppeteer is assisted throughout the show by a musician (in this case his wife) who plays the dholak and sings songs at appropriate points, sitting just to one side and slightly in front of the puppet theatre. Sometimes the musician also converses with the puppets. This ganevali (female singer) also sings wedding songs. She always covered her face in the presence of men. Her infant daughter slept peacefully on her lap throughout the proceedings (her head can just be seen resting on her mother's left arm).
The example is from a wedding song. Such songs are typically sung by women of musician castes at wedding ceremonies, using the dholak (as here) as accompaniment. Musically simpler songs are sung by women of non-musician background.
| Date: | 9/3/94 |
| Slides: | L20ã24 |
| Tapes: | INP94/7(b) |