Leather puppets in the traditional Tholpavakkoothu are being animated by robots. When tradition meets modernity, the result can sometimes be amazing. A puppet with robotic movements may not sound very charming but in a melding of traditional art and cutting edge technology, a shadow leather puppet in Kerala’s famous temple art Tholpavakkoothu is being animated by a robot.
For the first time, the famous shadow leather puppets will tell stories of the epic Ramayana with the help of robots.
M. Lakshmana Pulavar and his son Sajeesh Pulavar from Harishree Kannan Tholpavakkoothu Kala Kendra, Koonathara, are set to animate their leather puppets using robotics with help from Inker Robotics, owned by Rahul Balachandran.