Stakeholders
india
ICH Stakeholders 29
Community
(5)-
Muragacha Puppetry community
Muragacha was once a puppetry hub. Renowned art director and the pioneer of modern puppetry in Bengal, Raghunath Goswami, during a visit to Muragacha in the early 1970s, had said that the village was home to the largest colony of puppeteers in the world. There were fifty-five families practicing puppetry as a livelihood at the time; the figure is just twelve today. String puppetry, rod puppetry, and hand puppetry have a long history in Bengal. Their styles and puppets are different. String puppets weigh less and are moved with thin strings. They are made with cloth, papier-mâché, and sholapith. Their height, at the most, is two feet. The stage for a show must be ten feet long, six feet wide, and three feet high, with three sides covered. The puppeteer teams are like families. Everything, right from the script to lights, costumes, and sets are done in clockwork precision.
India -
Chau Dance Community
Chau, a form of folk dance, is an energetic and vibrant art form which finds its roots in martial arts. Popularly, there are three types of the Chau dance known among the indigenous people of Chotonagpur Plateau region. While the Seraikella Chau is popular in Jharkhand and Mayurbhanj Chau in Odisha, the Purulia Chau is popular in the western plateau regions of West Bengal. In 2010, Chau dance was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The dance is believed to date back to over a century, though the specifics of its origin cannot be definitely ascertained. The Purulia Chau dance comprises of rhythmic drum beatings, powerful acrobatic movements, and somersaults.\nMs. Mousumi Choudhury, Chau dancer, is the first female chau dancer of Purulia. Her father is a renowned Chau dancer- Ustad Jagannath Choudhury.
India -
Killimangalam Weaving Cooperative Society
The Kurava community migrated from Tamil Nadu and settled along the banks of the Nila River where they followed mat weaving traditions for many generations. Unfortunately, because of low financial returns and scarce raw materials, the community to lost interest in traditional weaving, leaving only one practitioner, Mr. U. Chami, who took the tradition forward for many years through the Killimangalam Weaving Cooperative Society. However, due to ill health at the age of 72, Chami left weaving behind. But before retiring, he taught traditional weaving skills to a non-native Kurava—Mrs. P. Prabhavathi. Today, Prabhavathi still holds Chami in high regard for his initiatives to train interested people, even those from outside the community. This willingness to train others laid foundation for the craft’s survival. For his efforts, Chami was recognized with the Master Craftsman Award by the Textile Ministry of India in 1992.
India -
Manipuri Theatre
Manipuri Theatre, established in 1996 at a remote village of Ghoramara in Kamalganj Upazila of the Moulvibazar district of Bangladesh, has become an example of theatre excellence. The main objective of the organization revolves around safeguarding Manipuri culture and to showcase the ICH traditions of the Manipuri community to a wider audience. Over the last twenty years, the organization has made a mark in theatre, producing around thirty plays. The journey of Manipuri Theatre is quite inspiring. In the past two decades, it has been able to attract theatre goers, create a village-based theatre studio, and present some excellent productions. Their work has been acclaimed for being instrumental in social inclusion of the marginalized Bishnupriya Manipuris and in the fight against extremism in society. The organization has also successfully connected to the Bishupriya Manipuris living in Manipur and other northeastern states of India through regular cultural exchanges.
Bangladesh -
Tholpavakoothu Community
Tholpavakoothu is a form of shadow puppetry unique to central Kerala, in southern India. It is performed in permanent temple theatres as a form of ritual primarily honouring the Goddess of Bhadrakali. It enacts the Hindu epic Ramayana in a version based on the Tamil Ramayana of Kambar. A highly flexible narrative allows a typical cycle of Tholpavakoothu to extend between seven and twenty-one nights, depending on the performance commissioned and sponsored locally. After remaining largely unknown to the West, until the twentieth century, recent scholarship has established its ancient beginnings, while also highlighting the absence of a detailed account of the art in performance over centuries of its existence.\nMr. Vipin V was born into a traditional family with a rich historical background. With his father for Guru/ teacher, he started a dedicated study of Pavakoothu. He soon achieved extraordinary skills in all aspects of the art form within a short span of time. It is believed that Chinnathambi Pulavar who lived 2000 years ago was the first prominent performer of Tholpavakoothu.
India