Keralam troupe showcases Paava Kathakali in Tiruchi
A troupe performed Paava Kathakali, a rare glove puppetry art form from Kerala, at a SPIC-MACAY convention in Tiruchi. The performers discussed the history and technical challenges of maintaining this traditional art.
Why it matters
Documents the preservation efforts of a dying traditional art form and its cultural significance.
A performance of Paava Kathakali, a traditional glove puppet theatre art from Keralam by K.C. Ramakrishnan and troupe, was among the folk traditions in focus at the regional convention organised by SPIC-MACAY at Shrimati Indira Gandhi College in Tiruchi on Sunday.
The art form uses puppets ( Paava ) made with wood and fabric to narrate stories from the epics, in a tradition similar to Kathakali.
“ Paava Kathakali came into its own in the 18th century, when puppeteers from the Andipandaram community in the Palakkad region used glove puppets to stage stories for children and women in home-based performances of Kathakali. At the time, Kathakali was already popular in Keralam. However, over time, puppetry lost out to other forms of entertainment. Today, ours is the only group of Paava Kathakali performers left,” Sreenivas Kunnambath, a member of the troupe and a senior puppeteer, told The Hindu on Sunday.
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