Stories In Leather

Nonagenarian puppeteer Bhimavva Shillekyathar has nurtured the art of leather puppetry, and is passing on the tradition to future generations

- RAGHOTTAM KOPPAR @Koppal

T 96, Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathar, the famed puppeteer from Koppal district, has been honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri award, one of India's highest civilian honours, for her contribution to the field of art. Her dedication to Togalu Gombeyaata (leather puppetry) and fascination for the art has sustained for the better part of the century.

Bhimavva, the daughter of Sanjeevappa and Somamma, is unschooled. Born in 1929 in Moranal village of Koppal district, she has been a torchbearer for Togalu Gombeyaata, the art which has been handed down through the generations.

She was 14 when she began working on leather puppetry as a family craft. She has captured 18 episodes of the Mahabharata, including Kurukshetra, Virata Parva, Lavakusha Kalaga, Karna Parva, Draupadi Vastrapaharana, Adi Parva, Sarpa Parva in leather puppets. She has even preserved 200-year-old puppets.

Bhimavva is proficient in all disciplines of this art. People who have attended her shows say her traditional Gombeyaata is worth watching and enjoying. She still sings from the Ramayana and Mahabharata episodes from memory, and adjusts the tune to the rhythm of the puppets.