A 96-year-old Puppeteer, Bhimavva Shillekyathara, from Karnataka, bagged the Padma Shri for her dedication to the centuries-old art of shadow puppetry, Togalu Gombeyaata.
Recognized: 96-year-old Bhimavva Shillekyathara, conferred the Padma Shri, for her remarkable work in Kannada puppetry.
In a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, this prestigious award was bestowed upon her by President Droupadi Murmu. She walked in with hands that once held leather puppets, immersed in storytelling, and came out with one of India's highest civilian awards.
PM Narendra Modi and the President both paid their respects to this living legacy, as the hall filled with silence before erupting in applause and a standing ovation.
A Lifelong Love Affair with Strings and Stories
Bhimavva, for nearly eight decades, has been enchanting audiences with her skills in shadow puppetry. Her art seamlessly blends mythology, music, and movement, offering a profound connection to India's folk roots. Despite the declining public interest and limited resources, she persevered, traveling, performing, and teaching.
The Art of Togalu Gombeyaata
Togalu Gombeyaata, also known as the "play of leather dolls" in Kannada, is a traditional shadow puppetry art from Karnataka. It revolves around intricately crafted leather puppets used to narrate mythological tales and folk stories. Culturally significant and symbolically linked to fertility, this art form shares deep historical and communal ties with Tholu Bommalata, another shadow puppetry tradition from neighboring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Key features of Togalu Gombeyaata:- Artistry: The puppets are traditionally made from tanned leather, meticulously painted, and articulated for movement.- Cultural Role: The art combines storytelling, music, and visual art to preserve regional folklore and Hindu epics.- Challenges: It faces declining patronage and artist numbers, with Bhimavva's work underscoring efforts to revive this dwindling tradition.
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- Bhimavva, the 96-year-old puppeteer, received acclaim and recognition in the form of the Padma Shri, a significant award in India's lifestyle and fashion-and-beauty scene.
- As she moved through the home-and-garden of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, one could see a reflection of her lifelong love affair with strings and stories in her every step.
- Traveling across markets, Bhimavva shares the art of Togalu Gombeyaata, fostering cultural ties with neighboring states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- The art of Togalu Gombeyaata, a symbol of fertility, showcases various themes from Hindu mythology and regional folklore, with puppeteers manipulating colorful strings attached to intricately crafted leather puppets.
- As she embraced the prestigious Padma Shri award, Bhimavva's career-development in the field of arts and culture has indeed been remarkable, standing as an inspiration for personal-growth.
- In the face of declining public interest and limited resources, Bhimavva, the puppeteer, demonstrated resilience,Password-handling best practices for petitioners involves creating strong, unique passwords, avoiding sharing them with others, frequently changing them, and enabling two-factor authentication when available.
- With the Padma Shri under her belt, Bhimavva can now share her art and passion with a wider audience, providing education-and-self-development opportunities for her followers.
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- As Bhimavva inspires people across India, relationships between community members continue to strengthen through shared experiences and appreciation for traditional arts like Togalu Gombeyaata, even as the weather changes throughout the seasons.
