The Art of Shadow Puppetry in India

Traditional Indian shadow puppet play with characters from Ramayana on a backlit screen.

🎭A Glimpse into Shadows

Shadow puppetry in India is not just a form of entertainment—it's a living canvas of mythology, folklore, and cultural expression. This ancient art uses flat cut-out puppets made of leather, projected onto a backlit screen. From the delicate, vibrant puppets of Andhra Pradesh to the dramatic silhouettes of Odisha, each regional tradition weaves stories passed down through generations.

While modern digital media takes center stage, shadow puppetry continues to survive as a powerful art form in village squares, temple courtyards, and rural festivals—where shadows speak louder than words.

🕯️ Shadow Puppetry in India: A Living Tradition of Light and Shadow

Shadow puppetry, also called shadow play, is one of the oldest forms of storytelling in India. It uses flat cut-out puppets made of leather or parchment. These puppets are placed between a light source and a white screen, creating dramatic silhouettes. When skilled puppeteers move them, the puppets seem to walk, dance, fight, laugh, or cry—all in the form of beautiful shadows.

🌟 Regional Styles of Shadow Puppetry

This timeless art form continues to thrive in several Indian states. Each region brings its own unique style, history, design, and storytelling method—making India’s shadow puppetry tradition both diverse and culturally rich:

  • Togalu Gombeyatta (Karnataka): Known for its miniature leather puppets and vibrant colors.
  • Tholu Bommalata (Andhra Pradesh): Features large, colorful puppets and stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
  • Ravanachhaya (Odisha): Performed using uncolored puppets that rely on pure shadow effects and dramatic gestures.
  • Chamdyacha Bhaulye (Maharashtra): A folk version using simple cutouts to share moral stories and village folklore.

These shadow puppet shows are not just for amusement—they serve as tools for educating rural communities, sharing social messages, and keeping traditions alive during festivals and temple celebrations.


A collage of traditional Indian shadow puppetry scenes showing diverse regional styles like Tholu Bommalata, Togalu Gombeyaata, and Ravana Chhaya with dramatic lighting effects.
Traditional Indian Shadow Puppetry

📚 What Stories Do They Tell?

Most shadow puppetry performances are based on ancient Indian epics and folklore, including:

  • Ramayana
  • Mahabharata
  • Puranas
  • Local legends and moral stories

These stories are not just for fun. They teach life lessons, share cultural values, and bring mythology alive in a way that everyone—from children to elders—can enjoy and understand.

🎶 Music, Voice & Movement: A Complete Performance

Shadow plays are not silent. They are full of live music, folk instruments, and vocals. Puppeteers often sing or narrate the story while moving the puppets behind the screen. The background music and dramatic shadow movement together create a magical experience.

🌾 A Village Tradition in the Age of Digital Screens

Even in today’s digital world, shadow puppetry continues to thrive in:

  • Village squares
  • Temple courtyards
  • Rural festivals
  •  Cultural fairs

For many rural communities, shadow puppetry is more than just a performance—it's a medium of social messages, tradition, and celebration.

🧵 Togalu Gombeyatta – Karnataka’s Tiny Shadows

Togalu Gombeyatta puppets displayed in traditional shadow theatre style from Karnataka, India

Togalu Gombeyatta is the traditional shadow puppetry art form of Karnataka. The word "Togalu" means leather, and "Gombeyatta" means puppet play. As the name suggests, these puppets are made of translucent leather and beautifully hand-painted.What makes Togalu Gombeyatta unique is the size of the puppets, which is generally smaller compared to other shadow puppetry traditions in India. The puppet’s size also symbolizes social status—larger puppets are used to represent kings, gods, and important characters, while smaller ones depict servants and common people.

🎭 The stories performed are often drawn from Indian epics like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and various local legends. The puppeteers are not just skilled in storytelling but also in manipulating the puppets in a lively and engaging way. These performances are usually accompanied by live music, songs, and narration, making them both entertaining and educational—especially for rural village audiences.

👉 Togalu Gombeyatta continues to be a powerful tool of cultural storytelling and remains an important part of Karnataka’s folk traditions.

🎨 Tholu Bommalata – The Vibrant Puppets of Andhra Pradesh

Tholu Bommalata shadow puppets of Andhra Pradesh displayed in traditional attire, showcasing Indian epic themes from Ramayana and Mahabharata

Tholu Bommalata, which means “dance of leather dolls,” is a famous shadow puppetry tradition from Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the most colorful and elaborate shadow theatre forms in India, known for its large, beautifully decorated leather puppets.The puppets are jointed at multiple points—including the shoulders, elbows, knees, and waist—which allows for more expressive and lifelike movements during the performance. They are also painted on both sides, enhancing their visual appeal when seen in shadow against the screen.

🎭 The themes of Tholu Bommalata shows are usually based on Indian epics like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and stories from the Puranas. These stories are brought to life through narration, music, and rhythmic movement, creating a magical experience for the audience.

🎶 The background music is heavily influenced by the classical music of Andhra Pradesh, adding depth and cultural richness to the performance.

Tholu Bommalata is not just an art form—it’s a living heritage that combines craft, performance, and storytelling, and continues to inspire awe with its artistic beauty and traditional wisdom.

🌓 Ravanachhaya – Odisha’s Dramatic Shadow Silhouettes

Ravanachhaya shadow puppetry of Odisha showcasing traditional leather puppets without joints used in epic storytelling performances.Ravanachhaya, meaning “Ravana’s shadow,” is the traditional shadow puppetry art of Odisha. It is one of the most theatrical and expressive forms of puppetry in India, known for its minimalist yet powerful visual storytelling.Unlike other Indian puppet traditions, Ravanachhaya puppets have no joints. Each puppet is carved from a single piece of deer skin and remains uncolored on both sides. As a result, the shadows cast on the screen are solid, opaque, and bold—creating a dramatic silhouette effect.

🎭 The puppets are crafted in bold and expressive poses, capturing human and animal figures, along with props like trees, mountains, chariots, and houses. Despite their small size—usually less than two feet tall—they produce lyrical and sensitive shadows that evoke deep emotion and storytelling finesse.

🎨 Because the puppets lack joints, their movement depends entirely on the skill and precision of the puppeteer. This demands great dexterity, as the artist must rely on gesture and outline, not color or articulation, to tell the story.

Ravanachhaya offers a unique visual experience—a world of light and shadow where the art of silence and form speaks louder than words.

🐘 Chamdyacha Bhaulye – Maharashtra’s Vanishing Art

Chamdyacha Bhaulye shadow puppetry of Maharashtra showcasing a dramatic battle scene with traditional leather puppets representing mythological characters

Chamdyacha Bhaulye, meaning "leather puppets", is a traditional form of shadow puppetry from Maharashtra. Once popular across the region, this rare art form is now on the verge of extinction. Today, only one known group of Chamdyacha Bhaulye puppeteers remains, based in Kundal village in the Ratnagiri district.Just like Odisha’s Ravanachhaya, these puppets are made from leather and do not have jointed limbs. They create black-and-white shadows on the screen and are used exclusively to narrate stories from the Ramayana. Some puppets represent single characters, while others show stylized group scenes with intricate backgrounds.

🛖 The performance takes place inside a small cubicle-shaped stage, where a single puppeteer squats and controls the puppets one by one. On the left side of the stage, in full view of the audience, sit live singers and musicians who perform traditional music and narrate the epic through song.

🎭 Chamdyacha Bhaulye is not just a puppet show—it's a living piece of cultural heritage. With only one surviving troupe left, this art form stands as a powerful reminder of Maharashtra’s rich storytelling legacy and the urgent need to preserve it.

🎉 Cultural Significance and Ritual Connection

Shadow puppetry is more than entertainment—it's deeply spiritual. These performances are often held during temple festivals, religious ceremonies, harvest celebrations, and village gatherings. They begin with invocations and sometimes aim to ward off evil spirits.

Many Indian mural paintings, dance forms (like Chhau), and folktales reflect themes and styles of shadow theatre. Through these art forms, ancient stories continue to reach new audiences.

❗ Challenges and The Road Ahead

While shadow puppetry has survived centuries, it now faces threats from television, cinema, and smartphones. Modern audiences are less exposed to folk arts, and traditional puppeteers struggle to sustain their craft.

However, with cultural revival projects, school workshops, digital platforms, and tourism support, there’s hope for these traditions to be reimagined for today’s world.

🔚Shadows That Shine

From Karnataka to Maharashtra, shadow puppetry reveals the artistic brilliance of India’s rural communities. Each performance is a soulful blend of light, leather, myth, and music. As we move forward in a digital age, let’s also look back—to honor and preserve these flickering shadows of our shared heritage.

Please do read my other blogposts, link below:⏬

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