Ranjani - Puppeteer in Delhi

Week 2 Report (21st may – 28th may)

Week 2 hasn’t been spectacular. I was hoping I’ll make use of the tempo with which I completed the 1st week, but in vain! First, I decided I needed to go museum-hopping to get information on puppet collections and displays in Delhi. So I made a trip to Srinivas Malliah Museum of theatre and crafts, Bal Bhawan, Crafts Museum, and Shankar’s Doll Museum. All of them had some kind of a puppet collection, so I was glad I got to see them. At every place I spoke to an official concerned as to whether workshops are held, whether puppet festivals happen in their museum, whether craftsmen from different states come occasionally to display their puppets, etc. Quite a tedious process it was, with a few disappointments and fruitless conversations here and there. I spoke to museum curators at Srinivas Malliah Museum, Bal Bhawan, and Crafts Museum; the curator at Crafts Museum was very knowledgeable about the subject and was helpful to the extent that he gave me tips on how to go about my project!

I spoke to a few puppeteers on phone, whose numbers I had. I don’t have too many new names to add to the directory yet, as the directory on our website covers most of them. Though in due course of the project, I hope to find more puppeteers.

On 27th May, I made another visit to Sangeet Natak Akademi, this time with a clearly defined purpose. I met Shubha Saxena who was the consultant in Department of puppetry. She also has her own puppet group, Rangpeeth Puppet Theatre. She was the most enthusiastic helper I’ve met. She gladly agreed to my requests of phone numbers, museum collection details, list of festivals, brochures and other details. Her extensive knowledge about the subject was evident, but along with it came a little bit of reluctance to speak about her own work. So, I don’t have a full fledged interview, but I can manage to write a page about our meeting. The nicest part of it was when she showed me the first puppet made by her.

Next week should be better. I have to fix an appointment with Ranjana Pandey once she’s back in town, and I’ll speak to a few others too.