The sagacious tale of Ramayana always enchants the Bhopalites. One of the episodes, ‘Sita Haran’ i.e. the abduction of princess Sita was spectacularly shown in the puppetry style.
Marking the second day of Putul Samaroh 2018 Sita Haran was staged adding the mastery of puppetry.
The puppetry was presented in Chhadh Puppetry Style. This presentation was directed by Manguni Phase Kunwar from Keonjhar Orissa.
The presentation began with showcasing Sita and Lakshman willingly renounced the comforts of the palace and joined Sri Rama in braving exile, even living in the Dandaka and Panchavati forests.
The Panchavati forest became the scene for Sita's abduction by Ravana, King of Lanka.
After shoiwcasing the sxile scene, the puppet masters beautifully re-created the golden deer scene that grabbed many applauses of the audience. Then, Ravana kidnapped Sita, disguising himself as a brahmana mendicant, or begging holy-man, while her husband was away fetching a magnificent golden deer to please her. Ravana took her back to his kingdom in Lanka, and Sita was held as a prisoner in one of his palaces.
During the abduction of Sita, with the use of creativity and imagery, the puppet masters showcased the Ravana and Jatayu yudh as well. The dramatic scene of Ravana and Jatayu was the eye-catcher of the performance.
In this presentation of two hours, the mood and enhancement was added with the music created by Sexophones, Sahayai, Harmonium, Pakhawaj, Tabla, Nagda, and more. The puppets used in Thursday’s presentation were about 40 years old.