Bommalata (tholu-bomma-la-aata) is a 300-year-old craft practiced in the villages of South India, especially Andhra Pradesh. In the days of yore the artisans made puppets out of leather and used them to put up shadow puppetry shows while traveling from one place to another. With the advent of electronic media, puppetry lost its popularity and these artisans diverted their skills into making leather lamps, wall and door hangings, paintings, and even jewelry. However, they still make puppets which are mainly for showpieces.

The ancestors of the present-day artisans, belonging to the ‘Chitrakara’ community, once migrated from Maharashtra to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Odisha. As a result, the art form evolved with each state carrying its signature variation of the original art. The puppets essentially narrate the story of the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Puranas. Their interpretation and representation evolved as the lore traveled by word-of-mouth. This variation is evident among the puppeteers from the different regions. The characters are distinctly colored and designed to designate them as good or evil. The Gods and messengers have a lighter shade except for Vishnu and his ‘avatars’ Rama and Krishna are colored blue. The Demons are in a darker shade with long canines and large, angry eyes. The women are draped in sarees or skirts, have flowers in their hair, and sport either a long plait or a bun. The evil women are portrayed with unkempt hair and fang-like teeth to distinguish them from other womenfolk. Live shows allow the audience to enjoy the entire musical narration of the epics accompanied by harmonium, cymbals, and table.

Paintings, lampshades, and hangings are adorned with particular scenes or characters from the epics, the Bhagabhata, Puranas, Jatakas, and other mythologies. The desired designs, motifs, and characters are drawn with chalk on dried leather, sourced from local markets. These markings are then permanently etched on the leather using a fine-tipped needle. The artisans use a bamboo nib for filling black ink into these marks to outline the shapes. These are then colored in vibrant hues or shaded in black and white. Small holes are made using artisanal chisels and hammers all over these shapes which are then varnished for longevity. One can distinguish the artisanal villages of Andhra Pradesh by the constant rhythmic taps during this process. In the case of puppets, the different pieces are prepared separately and then joined together with pins for pliability. The perforations allow light to shine through the puppets, lamps, and paintings and highlight the shape, color, and features of various characters. Earlier the artisans used natural dye. Today the ink is soured from Dharmavaram, a village bordering Karnataka.

Leather puppetry was a popular and the sole source of entertainment in the villages of Andhra Pradesh even some 20-25 years back, before the advent of television and broadcast media. People used to gather around the village field after work and be enthralled by the exquisite storytelling techniques of the artists. They empathized with the characters, laughed at their successes, amped them up during war scenes to their heart’s content. However, access to the varied contents of TV, cinema, and mobile phones have waned the puppetry tradition. Despite national and international recognition, a major reason for the ebbing of the craft’s availability is the reluctance of the younger generations to keep up the labor-intensive and patient practice that the art form demands. “… this craft, which is dying should be revived. Somebody should take up the responsibility of reviving this ancient art. The show must go on,” says Shirde Sri Ram, National Award-winning artist of Nimmalakunta village, Andhra Pradesh.