![]() When theatre once again emerged, it was in a spectacular array of village forms, each with its unique manner of presentation and, more importantly, in its own language. The period between 10th and 15th centuries saw a decline of the traditional Indian form of theatre. ![]() The socio-cultural perspective on the puppet tradition awaits the attention of the sociologists and anthropologists and of the scholars of the puppet traditions. This makes them an important social document as well as a cultural text. They also present an authentic portrait of the society at different periods of its history. They have great absorbing capacity and keep incorporating new thematic and textual material drawn from social life, customs and beliefs. The puppets have a broad social base and cast a wide net. Some poets of Bengal have also followed in their tradition. Ferdousi (11th century) and Jami (15th century), two great figures of persian literature, also wrote verses on the love story of Yusuf and Zulekha to uphold Sufistic mysticism. The first two of these poets wrote in Bangla while others used a mixture of two languages reminiscent of Dobhasi literature. In addition to Shah Muhammad Sagir, poets like abdul hakim, shah garibullah, Gholam Safatullah, Sadeq Ali and Fakir Mohammad wrote stories based on the Yusuf-Zulekha motif in the Middle Ages. The diction and the style of the work bear the signs of urbanity. The mention of raga and tal, or tune and measures, at the beginning of each chapter indicates that the pieces were originally meant for singing. Written in payar, or a metrical measure with lines of fourteen syllables, and tripadi, another Bangla meter with three feet, the book is split into chapters narrating some trivial events. The last part of the book represents the writer's contribution to the original story. The book ends with the supernatural story of the love between Ibn Amin, Yusuf's brother, and Bidhuprabha. Side by side with the religious teachings, human sentiments as well as the greatness of islam has been depicted in the work. The book upholds the teachings of religion and ethics through love stories culled from the Quran, where moral teachings and the greatness of the Almighty are expressed through the love story of Yusuf and Zulekha. ![]() shah muhammad sagir, a court-poet of Sultan Giyasuddin Azam Shah of Gaura (1389-1410), wrote the book in the 15th century at the Suntan's command. Yusuf-Zulekha a romantic story in verse written in the bangla language. Rod puppets and string puppets are used to present palagan or narrative plays, usually on the stories of Radha-Krishna and Rama-Sita. ![]() As the musicians play their drums, cymbals and flutes, an artist sings a song and makes the puppets dance to reflect the mood of the song. The puppeteer manipulates string puppets with strings so that the puppets appear to be dancing. There are three forms of puppets in Bengal: rod puppets, string puppets and glove puppets. The first reference to puppets is, however, found in yusuf-zulekha, a 15th century epic. It is not known how old the tradition of puppets dances is in Bengal. The dancing and the acting elements of the performance are hinged on the traditions of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas. The tradition of rod puppet in Bengal goes back to the end of fourteenth century and known as a Putul Natch (Puppet dance), with an emphasis on operatic singing and performance of a Jatra (folk play). We should do everything we can to take this tradition forward and let it not die. A true lover of the art, he persistently refused to mix the age-old tradition of puppet theatre with modern techniques that some of the new puppeteers have been doing. With this article we pay our homage to Dhan mia, a genuine upholder of the tradition of puppet show in our country. ![]()
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