| <<Previous |
MIMICRY
|
 |
Mimicry is an age-old art. The first
mimicry artist might have been a caveman, who copied animal voices
to keep them away. In Ramayana, when Rama chased Maricha
who was in the guise of the golden deer, Maricha shouted to attract
Lakshmana in imitation of Rama’s voice. In Mahabharata,
Bhima used this art to entice and eliminate the villain Keechaka.
Mimicry artiste should specialise in the imitation of voices.
It is broadly of two kinds: imitation of the manner of people’s
speaking; and reproduction of mannerisms, gestures, characteristics
and idiosyncrasies of the concerned persons. |
|
|
Imitation should cover
the voice as well as gestures. Synchronised reproduction of both the
features will have the highest entertainment value for the audience.
The items of mimicry should be brief, as it is a solo show.
Mimicry comprises imitation of public figures, actors, actresses,
singers, birds, animals, and sound of music instruments, aeroplane,
scooter, siren, car, motor bike, Rail engine, telephone, etc.
Well-known Indian artists in mimicry
are: Sunil Adak, Anup and Sadhan of Kolkata, Neralla Venumadhav and
Srinivos of Hyderabad, Dilip Khanna of Mumbai, Gopadkar of Mangalore,
Bhagwat Mann of Chandigarh, Dr.George Mathew Purayidom of Kerala, etc.
The comedian Johnny Lever and the singer Sudesh Bhonsle are also famous
as mimicry artists. Potti Sriramulu Telugu University of Hyderabad runs
a 1-year diploma course on mimicry. Mimicry is needed for puppetry, since any object,
used as a puppet, would need different voice patterns for animation.
|
BUTTA BOMMALU
|
Butta Bommalu
|
| The form is popular in West and East Godavari districts
of Andhra Pradesh. Butta Bommalu means Basket puppets. Thin bamboo strips
are made into Butta Bommalu, woven into the form of a long circular basket
figure. A dancer-performer gets
into the huge, hollow figure and dances to the rhythm of four dappus
in the open space. The figure is about 8 feet high with a radius of 3
feet. The bottom part of the figure is hollow and the performer gets into
the puppet. The figure is then tied down firmly to the man’s waist and
shoulders. There are small holes near the waist of the figure through
which the performer can see. As the figures are made of bamboo strips,
they are very light and the performer can carry the figure easily. A paste
made out of tamarind seeds is smeared over the bamboo structure and different
colours are used. Suitable costumes are given to them. These huge dancing
figures are a highlight in any religious procession. The figures are of
different mythical heroes: Rama, Hanumana, Krishna, Satyabhama, Shakti,
etc., depending upon the festival during which it is performed. During
the dance, the performers also suggest the characteristics of the figures
– for example, the monkey pranks of Hanumana, the love lore of Krishna
and Satyabhama, and so on. |
STORY TELLING
|
|
The story telling learns to relate to other times,
places and values. The children can sharpen their imagination as they
share in this warm, responsive art form. Listeners can increase memory,
concentration, better listening and a desire for further reading. The
storyteller sometimes uses props like puppets, instruments (with unusual
sounds, to be played under a voice or alone for short sequences), folk
toys, costumes and masks. A new international system of signs, which
can be easily learned and used for storytelling and conversation, has
recently been developed in Washington.
India has very old folk tales in different states and
different races. Jataaka, Panchatantra, Hitopodesh, Kathasaritsagaar,
Betal Panchabinsati, Simhasan Battrisi and Sukra Bahattari
are the books that contain Indian stories, comprising both myths and
fantasy.
India has a number of story-telling techniques. Phad
is a popular form of story telling amongst the rural folk of Rajasthan.
These cloth paintings depict the glory of rural heroes like Ramdevji,
Pabuji and Devnarayanji. The Phad is spread on the walls and a Bhopa
and his wife Bhupi sing the narrative. Phad painters mainly use red,
ochre and black colours. Kawad of Rajasthan is a box-like wooden
temple, which have many doors. The pictures of gods and heroes are illustrated
in every door. The Kawadia goes from village to village and sit on a
place keeping the Kawad on his lap, in order to narrates the story in
rhymic pattern: by touching each picture with a peacock-feather. Chitrakathi
of Pinguli in Maharashtra depict the stories from epics. There are
sets of pictures, 60 to 400 years old, stuck back-to-back and painted
in earth colours. The storyteller displays each picture and tells the
episodes in poetry. The maximum number of total pictures is about 4000.
There is a community mainly in West Bengal known as Patua. Members
of this community form a social group of their own, as they are not
admitted either into the Hindu or Muslim community. They
paint and exhibit episodes from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata
or any folk god and goddess through Pata.
|
Pandavani
|
They paint various episodes, one below another, on
the canvas (40x3 feet), rolled while carrying it from place to
place, called Jadano (rolled) Pata. When exhibiting
Pata, they gradually unroll the scrolls and explain each event
accompanied by self-composed songs. Yama Pata, seen in
Bengal and Bihar, depicts the sufferings of sinners in hell after
death. Tribal painters of Bengal and Bihar use Jadu Pata. The
paintings are kept as complete in all details, barring the iris
of the eye. The Patuas go to a family where somebody died recently,
with the painting supposed to represent the deceased. They tell
the relatives of the dead man that the departed soul is wandering,
-- not knowing where to go without the iris of its eye. If a show
is presented, he would put the iris in the painting and the soul
will find its own way to heaven.
|
|
| India has many performing art forms based on story
telling. Chakyars
form a community of performing artistes in Kerala, who used to narrate
stories using elaborate abhinaya and dance in olden age, to perform Chakyar
Koottu. The stories were taken from epics and Puranas, and
were recited in a stylised manner with appropriate facial expressions
and hand gestures. The Chakyar sang and acted out the roles of various
characters with cymbals and mizhavu (copper drum). In course of
time, this form turned into Koodiyattam. Pandavani is a form of story telling
among the tribals of the Chhatisgarh to entertain and educate the people.
This form tells the story of the five Pandava brothers and are of two
types: Kapilak and Vedamati. A team of Pandavani performers
consists of one main narrator-singer and one or two musician-cum-singers,
who play on tabla and harmonium. The main narrator-singer holds a tambura
(stringed musical instrument), decorated with small bells and peacock
feathers in one hand and a pair of kartal on the other. Tal-maddale drama of Karnataka is predecessor to the Yakshagana.
The Bhagavatar (chief narrator) and Arthadharis (associates)
sit and narrate the play without costumes, make-up, dance or acting, with
tala (cymbals) and maddale (drum). Burra Katha of Andhra Pradesh is narrated on the beat of Burra drum. The traditional
performers believe that they are descendants of Valmiki, the composer
of Ramayana. Gondhal is the dramatic narrative of mythological stories, hero-worship and folk
legends from Maharashtra, and part of a ritual dedicated to various deities.
Keertan is sung to laud and exalt
virtues of the deity by chanting his praise. It is the most popular narrative
form, which is prevalent in almost all parts of the country. In Maharashtra,
the narrative ode to the hero is called Powada, such as, the thrilling
episode of Shivaji killing his enemy Afzal Khan. Oja Pali of Assam utilises many dramatic
techniques to illustrate the narrative and enhance its visual impact.
This art form is associated with the worship of Manasa (serpent
goddess) and Dharmaraj (the god of death). The Oja is the main
narrator-singer and the Palis are his associates. They narrate stories
from the Assamese version of Puranas and the epics. Villu Pattu form
of recitation of Tamil Nadu uses bow-shaped musical instruments developed
in the 15th century. There are 7 to 8 persons for chorus, to
support the main narrator-singer, who weaves stories from Ramayana,
Mahabharata and the Puranas in ballad style. Daskathia of Orissa is a twosome narrator-performer show: Gayaka (chief singer)
and Palia (assistant): narrating the story dramatically, to the
accompaniment of kathia (wooden musical instrument). Chhaiti
Ghoda troupe of Orissa has the main singer with co-singer delivering
discourses from mythology. Kathakata of Bengal has Kathak
(narrator) with a whisk in one hand and Uttariya (shawl)
on shoulder, telling stories from the epics and Puranas. A group
of musicians accompanies him with musical support and sings in chorus.
Palagaan of Bengal is a musical form of Kathakata, along with a
principal actor-cum-singer, accompanied by other singers and dancers. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
©
2001 Puppetindia.com All Rights Reserved.
|
