THE POLITICS OF PUPPETRY: STUDYING THE PLAY AMAR SINGH RATHORE: KATHPUTLI-KA-KHEL AS A CHALLENGE TO HEGEMONIC CONSTRUCTION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v4.i2.2023.664Keywords:
Folk, Rajasthan, Puppetry, Bhats, Hegemony, Power, Resistance, LanguageAbstract [English]
Rajasthan is widely considered as the hub of folk art and folk theatre. Puppetry also known as Kathputli is performed by the Bhat community precisely which renders them as an inevitable part of oral literature and also as the main contributor in documenting history of Kings. The artform of Puppetry has always been a genre that never fails to capture immediate attention and has the power to bind the audience, compelling them to think as to what the puppet masters of the Bhat community are trying to point out. Our reasons for choosing Puppetry as the prime focus of our small project has been inspired by the same argument. Folklore has immense aesthetic and traditional values for every region. The way it ranges from talking about mythical celestial heroes to kings and their kingdoms, kathputli tradition has incorporated it all. Our inclination towards the art of string Puppetry is undeniable. The efficiency with which the Bhats have employed their skills to demolish the hegemonic constructions, depicts that their methods are nothing short of perfection. This article attempts to venture into this very discourse, unravelling the politicised stance of Puppetry in decentring the hegemony of caste/class construction.
Downloads
References
Andersen, H. C. (1837). “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. Fairy Tales and Other Traditional Stories By FCIT, Lit2Go. Accessed 7 July 2020. Web.
Bharucha, R., and Kothari, K. (2003). Rajasthan an Oral History : Conversations with Komal Kothari. Penguin Books India.
Bhushan, R. (2020). “Centering Bhasha (Indigenous Languages) : an Ecolinguistics Perspective.” Rupkatha Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 12(5), 1-7. https://dx.doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s30n6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v12n5.rioc1s30n6
Devy, G. N. (2014). The Being of Bhasha : A General Introduction. Orient Blackswan Private Limited.
Johnson, M., and Lakoff, G. (2003). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago and London : The University of Chicago Press.
Layoum, M. (1989). Harlow, Resistance Literature. Middle East Report 159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3012527
Ojha, S. V. (2016, September 30). Learning From Chanakya : Methods of the Artist-Spies. Swarajyamag.
Ramanujan, A. K. (1990). Who Needs Folklore ? The Relevance of Oral Traditions to South Asian Studies. Honolulu : The Center for South Asian Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawaii.
Sharma, V. (2011). Panchatantra. Trans. G.L. Chandiramani. Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd.
Snodgrass, J. G. (2004). The Centre Cannot Hold : Tales of Hierarchy and Poetic Composition from Modern Rajasthan. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 10(2), 261-285. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2004.00189.x
Tillis, S. (1990). Towards an Aesthetics of the Puppet. San Jose State University, Master's Theses and Graduate Research. https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.hncc-r3cu. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.hncc-r3cu
Valmiki, O. (2011, May 21). Shabd Jhuth Nahi Bolte. Kavitakosh.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Dr. Saurabh Kumar Singh, Prachi Chauhan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the licence CC-BY, authors retain the copyright, allowing anyone to download, reuse, re-print, modify, distribute, and/or copy their contribution. The work must be properly attributed to its author.
It is not necessary to ask for further permission from the author or journal board.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
