Mangalore, September 5: A crew from ’Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal’ from Udaipur in Rajasthan, efficiently presented a puppet show on Swami Vivekananda at Ramakrishna Mutt premises on September 4th.
In association with the Ministry of Culture; two shows, each of an hourly duration, were organised by Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi.A band of 13 members worked for 8 months on the project and used 72 puppets. Spreading the messages and life story of Swami Vivekananda to the children through a puppet show was mind blowing.
A powerful narrative technique was used in the show, where the life and message of Swami Vivekananda was delivered through the conversation between grandpa and his grandson, making it quite interesting. Grandfather explains the lessons of courage, integrity and conviction of Swami Vivekananda to his grandson Naren through various legends. Swami Vivekananda’s childhood as Narendra , his youthful days and his address at the world parliament of religions in Chicago, the basic moral lessons of life are told to the audience in an effective way. In one of the incidents, child Naren feels guilt for not having helped a road accident victim. When he converses about it to his grandfather; grandpa defines ‘Karma’ philosophy in a simple way by giving example of Vivekananda’s courage and presence of mind. The stories’ of Vivekananda transforms Naren to be a better human being, thus giving a message to the young minds to follow the preaching’s of Swami Vivekananda.
Advanced sound and light techniques used in the show made it an enjoyable and learning experience to students. Interacting with media on the sidelines of the show; Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal Assistant Director Govardhan Samar said that, the show on Swami Vivekananda organised at Mangalore was the 213th one. The show has been scripted by Laique Hussain and was directed by late Shyamali. “We are using 72 puppets in this show and have worked for eight months on it, with a budget of Rs 30 lakh. The team has already performed in several states including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarath, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Our next performance will be in Belgaum and we exhibited our shows at Bangalore and Mysore”, he added.
Mr Samar said that, since puppetry is losing its popularity; Mandal has been experimenting with the puppet shows, be it with sound and light, manipulation of stories or by adding music and dance to amuse the spectators.
