Prøve GULL - Gratis

Retelling Arabian Nights

The Morning Standard

|

March 21, 2025

Puppeteer Anurupa Roy on her journey, puppetry's evolving role in society, and her latest production, The Nights, at the Triveni Theatre Festival

- ADITHI REENA AJITH

Retelling Arabian Nights

A NURUPA Roy's love for puppetry began at six when her parents gifted her a puppet. "I was performing all the time, fascinated by this world of objects, dolls, and puppets," she recalls. Her interest grew in school when she discovered Delhi's first permanent puppet theatre at the Shri Ram Centre, run by Dadi Pudumjee, founder of The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust. At the time, puppetry was seen as a children's art form. But in college, Roy realised its broader potential. "I was 19, performing for friends, and I knew puppetry could engage adults too." In 1998, she founded Katkatha, which in 2006 was recognised as Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust, now a pioneering contemporary puppetry company.

A layered story

Now, with over 25 years of experience, Roy and her team are set to stage The Nights at the Triveni Theatre Festival—a retelling of 1001 Arabian Nights, co-written by Neel Chaudhuri and Adithi Rao. The play follows King Shahryar, who, after betrayal, vows to marry and execute a new woman daily—until Scheherazade outwits him with unfinished stories, delaying her fate night after night.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

THE PEOPLE MUST KNOW WHO'S GETTING DISASTER AID & WHY

The 2004 tsunami forced Sri Lanka to set up disaster preparedness mechanisms. But Cyclone Ditwah exposed that much more needs to be done, especially on transparency of aid flows

time to read

4 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

3 held for murder of Hindu businessman in Bangladesh

THREE persons were arrested on Sunday in the case of hacking and burning to death a Hindu businessman in Shariatpur district of Bangladesh, local media reports said.

time to read

1 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

A peace offering

DURING the promotions of his 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg famously said, “Every war movie, good or bad, is an antiwar movie.” Francis Truffaut had already given a counter 15 years before: “There’s no such thing as an antiwar film.”

time to read

3 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

ANTONY RAJU VERDICT: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE

FORMER Kerala minister Antony Raju, a member of the ruling LDE, now stands disqualified as a legislator and faces the prospect of being banned from contesting elections for years.

time to read

1 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

Liverpool & Man United held in EPL

HARRISON Reed struck a stunning equaliser for Fulham to salvage a 2-2 draw against Liverpool as both sides scored in stoppage time, while Manchester United were held 1-1 at Leeds on Sunday.

time to read

1 min

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

DIVERSIFICATION OF RISK CAN'T BE COMPROMISED

GOLD had an unprecedented run over the past decade.

time to read

2 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

Red Fort blast accused trained remotely using ghost SIMs and encrypted apps

OFFICIALS investigating the Red Fort car blast case have found that the terror module behind the attack operated with clinical precision, using layers of digital anonymity, while staying constantly connected to handlers across the border.

time to read

2 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

India walks diplomatic tightrope on Venezuela, calls for dialogue

MEA terms the developments \"a matter of deep concern\", but does not name the US

time to read

2 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

ALI, WHO UNITES THE BELIEVERS

SINCE Iran is in the news and since Hazrat Ali's birthday, or Wiladat-e-Maula Ali, fell on January 2 this year in India, I thought it would be interesting to talk about him this week.

time to read

3 mins

January 05, 2026

The Morning Standard

The Morning Standard

Police want CBI probe on Kerala LoP

Vigilance report recommendation for investigation linked to a flood rehabilitation project

time to read

2 mins

January 05, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size