Puppet is a string wooden doll dressed with vibrant colour cloths. It is also known as 'kathaputli'. It is used for narrating historical stories, old myths, legends, and social awareness programmes. A thousand years old tradition of the handmade puppet belongs to Rajasthan. Historically, the puppets were used to entertain royal families and local rulers. The tradition of handmade string puppets goes back to the era of Raja Vikramaditya of Ujjain. A puppet show was played on his life and achievements by the first Bhatt community artist. Later on, his descendants carried this tradition for hundreds of years for royal families and court members.
Originally, puppet art is formed by the Bhatt community from Rajasthan, India. This art is carried from generation to generation. Right from the making of the wooden puppet to the puppet show is a mastery of Bhatt artists. Puppetry is not just an entertainment show, but it conveys social messages to society. Artists from the Bhatt community possess versatile qualities. They learned this art from their ancestors. They never went to school or any art classes, it's there in their blood. One such artist is Gopal Madan Bhatt from Pune. Originally, he is from Manu village, Diawara district of Rajasthan, India. His family members include a mother, wife, four daughters, and five brothers. There are about twenty-five family members staying together. The tenth generation of the Bhatt family staying in Pune for fifty years.
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