Puppet Factory

Friday we took advantage of the holiday break by visiting a couple of puppet factories. Well, one was like a factory and one was a man and wife making and selling puppets from their home. Here are some of the puppets. You can see some of the Indian influence that has been in the area here for 1,000 years. Most of the puppet shows are based on Hindu legends but have been mixed with some local traditions.

These are at the actual factory. They had 20 or so folks working, doing painting carving, sewing, etc. If you notice they are girl, boy, boy, girl, boy. Notice the different shirts. Their faces look the same. Behind the "good" guys are some "bad" guys!



These are from the Mom and Pop operation. We bought from them liking to support the little guy and because they let two of our kids use their bathroom :-). The Pop even stopped smoking and acted like he was painting for a photo (which turned out to dark to see AARRGGGHHH!) Not a tremendous difference in the puppets themselves.


This is more traditional and modern. The modern don't have white faces or painted bodies. They also have a differently shaped face. We liked the face that was not so much like a smurf or something. The white face all seems to run together (at least that is what they say here...HA!)


Finally some good guys and bad guys. Notice the nice features of the front row and how their heads are bowed in humility. Then check the exaggerated features and mean looks of the back. Wouldn't it be nice if the bad guys were so easy to spot in real life?


When the Mom was wrapping up our Prince Arjuna puppet I explained she didn't have to wrap it for shipping since we weren't tourists and live here. She didn't buy it, though, as local people don't buy these puppets she said. They just go see the shows! Here I am with our $11 prince.