Indian Theatre, Puppetry, Circus and Martial Arts

Indian Classical Dance already covers the eight Sangeet Natak Akademi classical dance forms; this note covers this chapter's own separate, named cluster of performing and physical traditions: regional folk theatre, the four distinct techniques of Indian puppetry, the surprising modern origin of the Indian circus, and the country's major named martial arts.

Folk theatre: a form named for its region and its language of expression

India's regional folk theatre traditions are each tied tightly to one region and language, distinguished from one another by which combination of song, dance, dialogue and improvisation each relies on most. Jatra, originating in Bengal and now spread across Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Tripura, is a musical, open-air theatre form built around loud, declamatory dialogue and songs performed on a simple, minimally staged platform. Nautanki, North India's own major folk theatre tradition, was historically the dominant rural entertainment form before radio, cinema and television, built on sung narrative verse interspersed with dialogue. Bhavai, from the Kutch and Kathiawar region of Gujarat, is distinguished by its heavy reliance on dance and mime alongside dialogue, and traditionally opens with a ritual invocation to the goddess Amba. Yakshagana, from coastal Karnataka, is a composite dance-drama combining literature, music, dance, elaborate costume and face-painting together, performed through the night at village festivals. Ramlila, staged widely across North India (Varanasi and Ayodhya especially), is a primarily oral, narrative retelling of the Ramayana relying on sung recitation and dialogue rather than the complex formal dance vocabulary of a classical form, and was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Puppetry: four distinct techniques, not one craft

Indian puppetry is not a single technique practised in different regional styles; it splits into four genuinely distinct mechanical techniques, and identifying which technique a named tradition uses is exactly what this chapter tests. String puppets (marionettes) are worked by strings from above, and Kathputli, from Rajasthan, is India's most widely recognised example, a tradition with roots traceable back many centuries, its wooden puppets carved without legs (the puppeteer's costuming and movement conceal this) and worked with a distinctive twisting, exaggerated gesture style. Shadow puppets, flat, often translucent leather figures manipulated behind a backlit screen so that only their silhouette or coloured shadow is visible to the audience, are practised in several named regional forms: Togalu Gombeyaata (Karnataka), Tholu Bommalata (Andhra Pradesh) and Ravana Chhaya (Odisha) among them, each with its own regional style of figure and narrative repertoire. Rod puppets, worked from below by rigid rods rather than strings, are associated chiefly with Bengal. Glove puppets, worn directly on the puppeteer's hand like a hand-puppet, are practised in Kerala and Odisha. Confusing these four techniques with each other, attributing a shadow-puppet tradition's name to a string-puppet fact or vice versa, is the standard trap this chapter's own matching-style questions set.

The Indian circus: a surprisingly modern, precisely dated origin

Unlike the folk and classical traditions above, the Indian circus has a precisely documented modern founding rather than an ancient or folk origin. Vishnupant Chhatre founded India's first circus company, the Great Indian Circus, which gave its first performance on 20 March 1880, making him the figure conventionally credited as the founder of the Indian circus. The tradition's link to Kerala, still the country's leading source of circus talent and training today, was established directly by Chhatre himself: when his circus toured Thalassery, Kerala, in 1887, he met the Kalaripayattu martial arts trainer Keeleri Kunhikannan and struck an agreement under which Kunhikannan would train performers for the circus, in effect founding India's first circus training academy and setting the template, martial-arts-trained acrobatic performers, that Kerala's circus industry has followed ever since.

Named martial arts, by region

Each of India's major named martial arts is tied to a specific region and, usually, a specific weapon or technique. Kalaripayattu, from Kerala, is widely considered one of the oldest surviving martial art systems in the world, combining strikes, grappling, weaponry and a preparatory oil-massage conditioning regimen, and its own trained practitioners were exactly the pool Chhatre drew on to train India's first circus performers. Silambam, from Tamil Nadu, is centred on a long bamboo staff as its primary weapon, with a tradition traceable to the Sangam era. Gatka, associated with the Sikh community of Punjab, is a weapon-based martial art built around swords and sticks, historically tied to Sikh martial tradition and still performed at Sikh religious and cultural gatherings. Thang-Ta, from Manipur, is a sword-and-spear-based martial art, part of the broader Manipuri martial tradition known as Huyen Lallong.

Quick revision points

• Folk theatre by region: Jatra (Bengal, spread to Bihar/Assam/Odisha/Tripura), Nautanki (North India, historically the dominant rural entertainment before mass media), Bhavai (Kutch/Kathiawar, Gujarat, dance and mime, opens with an Amba invocation), Yakshagana (coastal Karnataka, composite dance-drama), Ramlila (North India, oral/sung Ramayana retelling, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage listed).
• Puppetry, four distinct techniques: string puppets/marionettes (Kathputli, Rajasthan), shadow puppets (Togalu Gombeyaata in Karnataka, Tholu Bommalata in Andhra Pradesh, Ravana Chhaya in Odisha), rod puppets (Bengal), glove puppets (Kerala, Odisha).
• Indian circus: founded by Vishnupant Chhatre, Great Indian Circus, first performance 20 March 1880; Kerala's circus tradition traces to his 1887 Thalassery agreement with Kalaripayattu trainer Keeleri Kunhikannan to train performers.
• Named martial arts by region: Kalaripayattu (Kerala, among the world's oldest martial art systems), Silambam (Tamil Nadu, staff-based), Gatka (Sikh community, Punjab, sword and stick-based), Thang-Ta (Manipur, sword and spear-based, part of Huyen Lallong).