Colours, Puppets and the Experience

Ambivalent, is the best I can describe myself when I found out I’ll be going for my first field visit to Kathputli colony in Shadipur. I was very excited about it but on a deeper level, I was also a bit uncertain. I didn’t know what to expect.  Other juniors who had already been there gave me a word of caution: whatever happens, do NOT wear slippers. Wear shoes only.

When we reached there, it all appeared very ordinary to me; just like a million other such colonies that pervade every nook and corner of our country. We met the puppeteers on the outskirts of the slum to discuss their artist profiles. Interacting with them for the first time, I realized how warm and welcoming they were. They offered to show us around the colony, and we gladly accepted.

Agile and deft, Raju bhaiya led us. Artistically maneuvering through the twists and turns, over the flowing drains and swerving around the running kids, I lost my sense of direction pretty quickly. After that, for all of us, it was like being led through a maze. Squinting through the yellow sun, I saw around me for the first time - and it was arresting. Walls, homes, rooms, even the bare air was tinted with all hues. Washed anew, the sight of the sun against the bright clothes was striking. As its rays percolated down the trees, against the open drains where we walked, everything shone. I could see the superman t-shirts, chota bheem tops, dabangg glasses looking at us and smiling. And we smiled back.

Noises floated in from every direction. No matter how small a room was, it had a TV or a radio on at its full volume. The subtle sounds of the bangles, anklets, gushing water combined with the more pervading ones became an aural treat. It all fit in, like puzzle pieces coming together.

We saw the puppeteers making masks, working magic with their strings. The passion they shared was uncanny, almost infectious. That experience in itself was inspiring. Life and talent bloomed together in the most unassuming corners; and they prospered. If not, they knew they tried. As I walked back and had a last look around the place, I saw those smiles, that innate talent and the hunger to hone it.

And I was awe-stuck.

-Bhumika Gupta