The Story
OrganizerDadi Pudumjee is one of the most internationally connected Indian puppeteers. His training in European puppet theatre traditions, combined with his deep knowledge of India's own puppet heritage from Rajasthan's Kathputli to Tamil Nadu's Bommalattam to Kerala's Tholpavakoothu, placed him uniquely to conceive a festival that would bring international puppet theatre to India and create dialogue between Indian and global puppetry.
The Ishara International Puppet Festival, launched in 2001, was the realisation of this vision. Indian puppet theatre faces a paradox: India has one of the world's richest puppet heritage traditions, but professional puppetry as a contemporary art form has had limited institutional support. The festival addresses this by positioning puppetry as a serious international art form, bringing companies from Europe, Asia, and the Americas to Delhi and placing Indian puppet traditions alongside them.
The biennial format allows the festival to build international partnerships and to develop programming with the care that an annual cycle might not permit. Each edition has introduced Delhi audiences to puppet theatre forms they had not previously encountered, from Japanese Bunraku to Indonesian shadow puppetry to European object theatre.
The Ishara International Puppet Festival is India's most significant platform for puppet theatre as a contemporary art form. It bridges India's ancient puppet heritage with contemporary international puppet theatre, creating a dialogue that neither a traditional arts festival nor a contemporary theatre festival typically enables. Dadi Pudumjee's founding of the festival is a key contribution to Indian performing arts infrastructure.
The Ishara International Puppet Festival is India's only international puppet theatre festival and a vital platform for an art form that spans some of India's oldest performance traditions. Dadi Pudumjee's curatorial vision, bringing international puppet theatre into dialogue with Indian forms, has no equivalent elsewhere in the Indian arts festival calendar.
Founded India's only international puppet theatre festival in 2001. Brought international puppet theatre companies from Europe, Asia, and the Americas to Indian audiences. Positioned puppetry as a serious contemporary art form in India. Created a platform for dialogue between Indian traditional puppet forms and international contemporary puppetry.
