Tholu Bommalata

Tholu Bommalata is a form of folk (Shadow) theater from Nimmalakunta, Andhra Pradesh in Southern India. Here the puppeteer uses translucent leather puppets to tell mythical stories. The art form combines translucent colors with ornate forms influenced by cross-country migration and settlement. Shadow puppetry relies on the skills of the puppet maker and storyteller to bring alive a host characters on screen. The stories, songs, and the art go hand in hand and one does not exist without the other. The puppeteers represent the mighty creator who pull the strings, control the story and the movements of the puppet and the characters they portray.

Located in Anantapur district, Nimmalakunta village is close to Putaparthi, a renowned spiritual destination and Dharmavaram, a town that is known for it colorful handloom silk sarees.

Origin Story

There are several origin stories for this craft, each requiring subjective interpretation. One of the most widely accepted origin stories is that the craft of storytelling using leather puppets was practiced by migrants. King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire patronized the craft as “Thogulu Gombeyaata – The dance of leather dolls.” It was a medium to educate people on religious myths. The migrant storytellers moved from the present day state of Maharashtra, to Karnataka, before settling down in Andhra Pradesh, all of which are neighboring states.

Evolution of the form

Historically, the puppets were created using deer skin. However, at the present goat skin leather is used. While the leather used in making puppets is cleaned and processed naturally, leather used in making jewellery and décor products are chemically treated. As the resultant skin is thin, a double layer of leather is used to make the jewelry durable. Motifs, forms and visual aesthetics drawn from other folk art forms such as Kalamkari, Patachitra are combined with the Gombeyaata style to create art in Tholu bommalata style. While colors such as red, black, indigo and yellow were predominantly used in the past, drawing inks in bright colors are used at the present. Just as the puppets in natural colors impressed the audience when lit from behind the screen with oil lamps, the chemical colors gel well with the fluorescent lights used in the present times.