Tolu Bommalata (Leather Puppet play)

Tolu Bommalata, the shadow puppet theatre, has been popular not only in Andhra Pradesh, but also in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Orissa as well. While the puppets of Kerala, Maharashta, and Orissa are traditionally black and white, the Karnataka, Tamilnadu, and Andhra puppets are multi-coloured. The Andhra puppets are larger in size, with separate parts of the various limbs stitched loosely for better articulation. The earliest mass medium using coloured images, the shadow-puppet theatre has always been popular among rural folk, combining entertainment with moral instruction.

A general belief is that the art of puppetry was prevalent in this part of the country even by the beginning of the Christian era. It is also believed that this art was carried from here to the South-East Asian countries where Indians had colonised.

The Andhra puppets are the largest multi-coloured puppets in India. The usual size of a puppet ranges between 5X3 to 6X3-1/2 feet. There are even larger figures. A Ganniyam or puppet box usually holds 100 puppets. These hundred-odd figures are used to present both Ramayana and Mahabharata stories. Some characters come in several sizes, according to the needs of the story. For example, there would be at least four figures of Hanuman in a ganiyam ranging from a small one of 1/2 X 1/2 foot size to a large one of 7 X 3-1/2 feet size.

The head and body are held together with a bamboo stick so that the figure is stiff when held aloft against the screen. Since the puppet is coloured on both sides, it can be used both ways depending upon the direction of the head required to suit a scene, especially when the character is engaged in conversation.

A stage with a white screen is a prerequisite for a performance. Unlike string puppets, which are operated in front of a screen, leather puppets appear behind the screen. The entire manipulation also takes place behind the screen. The white screen usually 8 X 6 feet (for larger performances, it would be 10 X 6 feet or even 12 X 8 feet) - is stretched and fixed to poles on all four sides. The screen has to be stretched tightly, without creases, to afford a clear view from the other side. Usually the curtain is about 1-1/2, from the ground, which part is covered with black cloth.

For illumination, two lamps are placed a couple of feet behind the screen at a height of about six feet. In the old days a row of earthenware lamps was used, lit with castor oil. Now performers use petromax lamps, even electric lights. Care has to be taken to light up the screen uniformly so that the puppets glow uniformly on the screen. The old style of lighting achieved a more natural and uniform illumination while with the aid of petromax and electric bulbs, the light is less diffused and more concentrated.

The manipulation of the puppets is intricate and subtle. The free moving limbs have to be manipulated simultaneously; the one-piece figures without joints are more easily managed. The manipulation must achieve a stylised effect while retaining the realistic visual impact made by the puppet. The important thing is to achieve the right posture of the character concerned.

The 'text' the puppeteers use for their performance is not written document. It is collected (and orally transmitted) from different sources at different times in the development of the art. For example, the Ramayana story is drawn from different written and oral texts. The narrative part comes from the Ranganatha Ramayanam. The text is chosen partly because of its conversational idiom, necessary for a theatre performance, and partly because of its musicality. The poems are taken from the Molla Ramayanam and the daruvus from the Kucikonda Ramayanam. The different components are put together appropriately in a performance. It is not known when these different textual elements came to be assimilated in Andhra puppetry.

Verbal improvisation mainly occurs during the humorous interludes, which do not depend upon any text. Audiences eagerly await the arrival of the comic characters, Bangarakka and Kethigadu. Through these minor characters, the puppeteers bring relief to the serious tone of the story. There are duets specially written for these two characters who have become synonymous with folk humour in Andhra. They are recalled with delight by the spectators. In the olden days the relative merits of puppeteers were decided on the basis of their improvisations with these comic characters.

Music is the soul of a puppet show. The dances, conversations, fights, descriptions, and even humorous episodes come to life through appropriate songs and poems, recited in the proper raga.

A group consists of about eight performers, of whom two male and two female members are the manipulator singers. Three instrumentalists accompany the songs on the harmonium, Mridangam and cymbals. In southern Andhra Pradesh, the Mukhavina is also used.