Narayan Srivastava stands with his glove-puppets

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Puppetry in Lucknow – ‘Gulabo-Sitabo’

Volume: 16, No: 12 ; December-2022

A puppeteer, Meraj Alam and Narayan Srivastava carry on the tradition in spite of the tradition perishing and with no audience to appreciate this old tradition of storytelling through puppets incarnated in different characters in Lucknow. The art of Lucknow’s puppetry gained immense popularity with the release of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Gulabo Sitabo.

‘Putli Mohalla’ was an area near Ayodhya (then a part of Awadh province) where craft persons and story-tellers engaged in crafting puppets and dolls of wood would reside with their families. This traditional art is almost dead and only a very few people are now engaged in this tradition that too, only out of their interest and not anymore as a part of their profession.   

This art form got immense patronage during the reign of Wajid Ali Shah. It was in his times that the women character of Gulabo and Sitabo through whom social causes of those times were touched upon were brought to life.

Puppets worn on gloves always were popular in the region of Awadh, especially in the capital of Lucknow. Papier-mâché and cloth were the main material used to make these puppets and the dolls were made to wear bright colour clothing, many a times traditional finery reminiscent of Awadh. The puppeteers would perform in ‘Mohollas’ (Colonies or cluster of homes) and markets, where groups would stop and gather to watch the performances and related better with the story narrated. The stories were humorous, tragic and often had some element of suspense too but the primary idea was to put across a social message.   

Another form of puppetry was the ‘rod puppetry’ that gained prominence in the seventies but by the nineties this too lost its relevance with the advent of the newer and modern entertainment modes that took not only Lucknow but the entire country by storm.

The earnings of a puppeteer would be dependent on donations that audience would give in appreciation of performances and they were never fixed as emoluments to the performer, thus it was really important for more and more people to stop, watch and be entertained by them. With the modes of entertainment changing the crowd thinned and thus it impacted adversely the earnings of the performers. It was not uncommon for puppeteer to be accompanied by musicians to complement their story and make it more interesting. These groups would also travel to other towns and villages and a few affluent families would especially invite the performers to perform at family and social functions.

Any art form or the survival of any traditional art is dependent on the patronage and in turn if the same is able to sustain the performer’s life and livelihood. “Change is only constant” – this may not be a good thought when we talk about art, art forms, cultures and traditions. Really hope puppetry carries on as a part of a tradition and is not only confined to period films like ‘Gulabo-Siotabo’.   


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Puppetry in Lucknow – ‘Gulabo-Sitabo’

A puppeteer, Meraj Alam and Narayan Srivastava carry on the tradition in spite of the tradition perishing and with no audience to appreciate this old tradition of storytelling through puppets incarnated in different characters in Lucknow. The art of Lucknow’s puppetry gained immense popularity with the release of the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Gulabo Sitabo.

‘Putli Mohalla’ was an area near Ayodhya (then a part of Awadh province) where craft persons and story-tellers engaged in crafting puppets and dolls of wood would reside with their families. This traditional art is almost dead and only a very few people are now engaged in this tradition that too, only out of their interest and not anymore as a part of their profession.   

This art form got immense patronage during the reign of Wajid Ali Shah. It was in his times that the women character of Gulabo and Sitabo through whom social causes of those times were touched upon were brought to life.

Puppets worn on gloves always were popular in the region of Awadh, especially in the capital of Lucknow. Papier-mâché and cloth were the main material used to make these puppets and the dolls were made to wear bright colour clothing, many a times traditional finery reminiscent of Awadh. The puppeteers would perform in ‘Mohollas’ (Colonies or cluster of homes) and markets, where groups would stop and gather to watch the performances and related better with the story narrated. The stories were humorous, tragic and often had some element of suspense too but the primary idea was to put across a social message.   

Another form of puppetry was the ‘rod puppetry’ that gained prominence in the seventies but by the nineties this too lost its relevance with the advent of the newer and modern entertainment modes that took not only Lucknow but the entire country by storm.

The earnings of a puppeteer would be dependent on donations that audience would give in appreciation of performances and they were never fixed as emoluments to the performer, thus it was really important for more and more people to stop, watch and be entertained by them. With the modes of entertainment changing the crowd thinned and thus it impacted adversely the earnings of the performers. It was not uncommon for puppeteer to be accompanied by musicians to complement their story and make it more interesting. These groups would also travel to other towns and villages and a few affluent families would especially invite the performers to perform at family and social functions.

Any art form or the survival of any traditional art is dependent on the patronage and in turn if the same is able to sustain the performer’s life and livelihood. “Change is only constant” – this may not be a good thought when we talk about art, art forms, cultures and traditions. Really hope puppetry carries on as a part of a tradition and is not only confined to period films like ‘Gulabo-Siotabo’.