Tholpavaakoothu
I heard about Tholpavakoothu, a Shadow puppetry, from my father. In his childhood days this art was performed during the Temple festival in Palghat from 10 pm to day break. I never got a chance to see it in Kerala. It was an amazing moment to see it in Singapore as a part of Kalaa Utsavam 2014. Tholpavakoothu Tholpavakoothu is a unique shadow puppet theatre from Kerala which is preserved as a family tradition by the Pulavars community. Temples in India were places to impart knowledge and different art forms thrived in there in times. Tholpavakoothu is a ritualistic art form dedicated to Bhagavati, the mother Goddess and performed during the Temple Festivals, Utsavams. This puppetry is performed in Koothu Mandapam, a specially constructed theatre in front of the temple during the months of January to May. During the times when the entertainments were mainly by live performers many art forms thrived in Kerala. Tholpavakoothu was a way to narrate the epic stories using puppets. The