Wooden dolls and wandering families
For centuries they were travellers, moving from village to village in the dry season with a bundle of puppets, a drum and a few cots, performing in exchange for grain, cloth or a few coins, and returning home for the rains.
Marionettes: the puppets are worked from above by strings, with heads and bodies carved from light wood.
- The word
- Kath, wood, and putli, doll
- Type
- String marionettes, worked from above
- The players
- Hereditary families, mostly Bhats
- Home ground
- Marwar, especially around Nagaur
- Show length
- Thirty minutes to an hour
- The faces: painted in bold colours, with huge almond eyes and curled moustaches.
- The costumes: stitched from scraps of bright cloth, brocade and mirror work. Most puppets have no legs at all, only long, full skirts that flare as they dance.
- Men and women: the men wear tall turbans and carry swords, the women veils and jewellery. Our journal on the turbans of Rajasthan explains what those turbans mean.
- Few strings: each puppet is controlled by just a few strings looped over the puppeteer's fingers.
- Who performs: mostly the Bhat community, families who have performed for generations and passed the craft from parent to child.
- Their own history: their tradition links them to the courts of Marwar, especially the region around Nagaur, where their ancestors sang the deeds of heroes and kings for Rajput patrons.
A family art, three generations at once
The men: usually work the strings and give the puppets their voices.
- The women: play the dholak, a two-headed drum, sing, and act as narrator, explaining what the squeaking puppets are saying.
- The children: learn by watching from behind the stage, and by their teens many can work a dancing puppet as well as their fathers.
- Three generations: a show is often grandparents, parents and children working together, a family art in the fullest sense.
A reed in the mouth, and a stage made of beds
The boli, the puppet's voice
The reed whistle: the puppeteer holds a small reed, the boli, between his lips as he works.
- Shaping the sound: with breath and mouth he makes the shrill, chattering speech of the puppets, rising for an angry king, falling for a sly courtier, breaking into a squeal for a fight.
- Why there is a narrator: few in the audience can follow every word, so she repeats and explains what has been said, adds jokes for the local crowd and sings the songs that carry the story forward.
The stage of string cots
Two beds on end: two string cots, the charpai, are stood upright and tied together.
The palace front: a painted cloth hangs across the front with a row of arches like the windows of a palace.
- Hidden hands: the puppeteer stands behind the cloth on a raised step, so his hands are hidden above the arches and the puppets appear below them.
- Lighting: lamps or a single bulb light the front.
- Portable: everything fits on a bicycle or a camel, and a stage can go up in a courtyard in a quarter of an hour.
Watch the hands
Two at once: a good puppeteer works two puppets together, makes a horse rear and canter, and sets a dancer spinning on one string.
- The juggler: tosses balls that seem to hang in the air.
- Rhythm and touch: the strings are few, so everything depends on timing with the drum.
The ballad of Amar Singh Rathore
We tell the story as legend rather than history, and so do the puppeteers. What matters is what it meant to village audiences across Rajasthan: honour above life, courage against power, and a hero who answered an insult in the emperor's own court. Folk singers still sing it, and our page on folk music and dance explains the wider tradition.
Who he was: the eldest son of a ruler of Jodhpur, passed over for the throne and sent into Mughal service, where Shah Jahan made him governor of Nagaur.
- Hero
- Amar Singh Rathore, of the Jodhpur house
- Post
- Governor of Nagaur under Shah Jahan
- The insult
- 1644, at the court in Agra
- Villain
- Salabat Khan, a Mughal noble
- Told as
- Legend, not history
- His temper: he was famously proud and quick to anger.
- The insult: the popular story says that in 1644 a Mughal noble, Salabat Khan, insulted him in open court at Agra, and Amar Singh drew his dagger and killed him in front of the emperor.
- The leap: he was cut down soon after, and the ballad says his horse leapt from the fort walls to carry him, or his body, home.
- Still remembered: Agra guides point out the gate named after him at Agra Fort.
- The puppet version: told with gusto and comedy. The court assembles, each nobleman with his own squeaky voice, the hero rides in on his prancing horse, the dagger flashes and wooden bodies fly.
- The interludes: a snake charmer whose snake bites back, a juggler, a dancing horse, a magician, and a dancing woman who spins faster and faster on a single string.
- Other plays: the tales of Pabuji, of Prithviraj Chauhan and of village tricksters, but Amar Singh is the one everyone waits for.
Meet the cast before the curtain rises
The hero and his horse
Amar Singh: the tallest puppet, with a towering turban, a fierce moustache and a sword at his side.
- His horse: a single carved piece with a painted saddle cloth and no legs, made to rear, trot and charge with a rocking movement of the wrist.
- Watch for: the moment the horse leaps the wall. It always brings a cheer.
The emperor and his court
The throne scene: the Mughal emperor sits surrounded by courtiers, each a slightly different shape and colour.
- The villain: the man who insults the hero is usually given the silliest voice of all.
- The narrator's moment: she explains who is plotting against whom, often with jokes about local officials that the audience loves.
The snake charmer and the snake
- The act every child remembers: the charmer plays his gourd pipe, and the snake rises and sways.
- The twist: the snake bites him on the nose, and the charmer chases it round the stage. Pure slapstick, and it never fails.
The dancer and the juggler
The dancing woman: in a wide skirt of mirror work, she spins on a single string until her skirt becomes a wheel of colour.
- The trick costume: in some troupes it flips over to reveal a completely different figure.
- The juggler: tosses tiny balls from hand to hand on strings so fine you can hardly see them, and a good puppeteer makes him drop one on purpose to get a laugh.
Where we arrange it, city by city
Udaipur, Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal
What it is: a folk art institute near Chetak Circle, founded in 1952 by Devi Lal Samar, the scholar and puppeteer who did more than anyone to win respect for Rajasthan's puppetry.
- The museum: old-fashioned and charming, with glass cases of string puppets from Rajasthan and further afield, masks, costumes, instruments and village shrines.
- The show: a short puppet show is held most days, a hit with children and grandparents alike.
- Pair it with: Saheliyon ki Bari, on a morning in Udaipur.
Udaipur, the courtyard of Bagore ki Haveli
Every evening: the courtyard of Bagore ki Haveli on Gangaur Ghat hosts an hour of folk dance and music.
- The puppets: a short act, with kings, dancers and horses, is usually part of it, and the haveli museum has a room of puppets too.
- Best as: a fine first taste before a longer private show elsewhere on your journey.
Jaipur, a private evening in a courtyard
Puppeteer families: Jaipur has many, and the lanes around Siredeori Bazaar and the walled city sell their puppets. Our page on the bazaars of Jaipur explains where.
- Our favourite way: a family performing in the courtyard of your haveli or palace hotel, with musicians and perhaps a Kalbelia dancer, rather than in a hotel lobby.
- The setting does half the work: at Samode Haveli or Rambagh Palace.
Jodhpur and the Marwar heartland
The puppets' home ground: Marwar.
- In Jodhpur: a puppeteer family can perform on a rooftop facing Mehrangarh as the fort lights come on.
- In Nagaur: where Amar Singh was governor, ask your guide to tell his story at the fort itself, and to find a local puppeteer for the evening.
Jaisalmer and the desert camps
Gadisar Lake: around the lake in Jaisalmer, small cultural centres, some run by local enthusiasts, hold short puppet shows in the evening.
- The fort ramp: stalls sell puppets by the hundred.
- In the camps: a puppeteer can join the musicians by the fire. A show under the stars, with the dunes behind the painted cloth, is the closest thing to the old travelling performances.
Festivals, when the puppeteers gather
Kumbhalgarh Festival: in December, with puppet shows among the folk performances.
- Rajasthan International Folk Festival: at Mehrangarh in October.
- Dates: set each year, so we confirm them before you travel.
A private puppet evening, the way we arrange it
This is usually the best part of the evening. Very few children manage more than a wobble, and very few stop smiling.
Who comes: a puppeteer family we know, with their puppets, drum and stage.
- Troupe
- Three or four family members
- Arrive
- Late afternoon, to set up
- Show
- Thirty minutes to an hour after sunset
- Where
- Your hotel, haveli or a chosen courtyard
- Book ahead
- A few weeks in November, December, February
- When: they arrive in the late afternoon, put up the stage and perform after sunset, before or after dinner.
- The programme: chosen with us in advance, the full Amar Singh ballad, a short version with plenty of interludes for young children, or a mix of puppets, songs and a dancer.
- Make it a festival: we often add folk musicians. A private dinner in a palace courtyard with puppets before the meal and singers after it is one of the loveliest evenings we arrange.
- For deeper music: we add a group of Manganiyar singers.
- Try the strings: after the show the puppeteers come out and invite children to try. They show how one finger lifts the head, another the arm, and how the boli makes the voice.
In the workshop: carving, painting, dressing
Carving the head
One block: the head and upper body are carved from a single block of light, soft wood with a few simple chisels and knives.
- Shaped in the wood: the turban or veil, a long nose and a firm chin, with the eyes left as broad, flat ovals ready for paint.
- Speed: a skilled maker can rough out a head in an hour and finish it in a day.
Painting the face
The colours: primed, then painted in strong colours, often warm yellow or pink for the skin, with enormous black-rimmed eyes, arched brows, red lips and, for the men, a sweeping moustache.
- Eyes last: they bring a puppet to life on stage, so they are painted with the most care.
- Old and new: older puppets were coloured with mineral and plant pigments, newer ones mostly with enamel paints.
Dressing and stringing
The costumes: usually made by the women of the family, from bright cotton, satin and brocade, with gold trim, sequins and tiny mirrors.
- The arms: stuffed cloth, attached at the shoulder.
- The strings: a single loop from the head to the back and short strings to the hands. Hold a well-made puppet and you will feel the balance at once.
A workshop for guests
Where: with notice, a morning with a puppet-making family in Jaipur or Udaipur.
- What you do: watch the carving and painting, help dress a puppet and learn a few simple movements.
- Take home: a puppet you helped to finish. A wonderful morning for families. Our crafts page explains how we choose the workshops we visit.
Cousins of the puppets: phad, kavad and the storytellers
The phad of Pabuji
Where: Marwar.
- How it works: the bhopa priests sing the epic of Pabuji through the night in front of a phad, a long painted scroll, lighting each scene with a lamp as the story reaches it.
- Read more: our journal piece on the bhopa and the phad explains how to read the paintings.
The kavad of Bassi
Where: the village of Bassi near Chittorgarh, in Mewar.
- What it is: a painted wooden shrine with panels that open like the pages of a book.
- How it works: a storyteller unfolds it door by door as he tells the tales of the gods.
What the three share
Travelling arts: carried from village to village by families paid in grain and hospitality.
- Under pressure: from television and phones, and surviving because some families have kept going and some patrons have kept paying.
- Why see them together: they show how ordinary Rajasthanis learned their history and their faith before most of them could read.
- Read more: our journal on kathputli puppets goes deeper into the puppeteers' own story.
An art that needs its audience
Village patronage lost: when cinema, radio and television arrived, the village audience shrank, and many families moved to the cities, some settling in large communities of performers and craftspeople.
New stages: today a puppeteer is as likely to perform at a hotel, a school, a wedding or a cultural festival as in a village square, and some troupes have travelled the world.
Recognition: Devi Lal Samar's work in Udaipur and the attention of folklorists helped the art win recognition as one of India's great folk traditions.
- Still uncertain: the work is often poorly paid, and many young people from puppeteer families have chosen other trades.
- How to help: watch it, pay for it properly and buy puppets from the families who make them.
- Fakes everywhere: cheap machine-made puppets, often with plastic faces, are sold everywhere now.
- A real kathputli: has a carved wooden head, hand-painted eyes and a costume stitched by hand.
- How we pay: directly and fairly, with the fee agreed in advance and no commission on puppets bought afterwards.
- Where to buy: from the puppeteers themselves, or a maker's workshop we take you to. Our shopping guide explains how to tell handwork from mass production.
The right season and the right hour
October to March: cool, dry evenings, perfect for an outdoor show in a courtyard or on a rooftop. We plan most private shows for the hour after sunset.
April to June: we move shows indoors or late into the evening.
- October-March
- Cool, dry, perfect outdoors
- April-June
- Indoors, or late in the evening
- Monsoon
- A covered space kept ready
- Busiest
- Wedding season and festivals
- Daytime option
- Museum shows in Udaipur
- The monsoon: we keep a covered space ready in case of rain.
- Book early: puppeteers are busiest in the wedding season and at festivals, so book a few weeks ahead for November, December or February.
- With young children: an early show at around six, followed by supper, keeps everyone happy.
- For adults: a show before dinner works best, with drinks in the courtyard as the stage goes up.
- On a hot afternoon: Udaipur's museum shows run during the day, a good choice when the forts are too much.
Who will love it
Families: children of every age love the puppets, and a show brings a long day of forts to a happy end. Our family journeys and guide to travelling with children build one into most itineraries.
Grandparents: enjoy it just as much, and many Indian guests remember the same shows from their own childhoods.
- Folk-culture and theatre lovers: a private show with a conversation afterwards is fascinating for anyone interested in how traditional arts survive.
- Couples: a full show may feel a little long, so we suggest a short puppet act with musicians at dinner.
- Celebrations: groups marking a birthday or anniversary often ask for a show at a party, and the puppeteers happily add a scene or a song for the guest.
- Limited mobility: a lovely evening, because everything comes to you.
Good to know before the show
Sit close: the puppets are small and the stage is low, so the front rows see far more.
Ask for the story first: especially the Amar Singh ballad, so the squeaky dialogue makes sense.
- Photography: usually welcome during a performance, but ask first, and never use a flash in someone's face.
- Clap loudly and laugh freely: the puppeteers play to the audience, and a lively crowd gets a better show.
- Buying a puppet: ask the family after the show. A pair, a man and a woman, is the traditional gift.
- Tipping: a tip at the end, given with thanks to the head of the family, is customary and kind. Our money and tipping guide explains what is usual.
- Packing puppets: they travel well. Wrap the faces in soft cloth and keep them away from damp, which lifts the paint.