Long before wooden puppetry (Bommalattam) became a recognized folk art performed on stages in the villages of Tamil Nadu, it was already mentioned in Tamil literature. Among its earliest references are Thirukkural Thiruvalluvar’s couplets, which refer to wooden puppets (Marappavai) as a powerful metaphor for life. In Kural 1,020, he says that the actions of a person without Vinaya are like the movements of a wooden puppet operated by strings. He is as lifeless as a puppet. In verse 1,058, he says that if there were no beggars to ask for alms, there would be only people left in the world walking like wooden puppets. Such mentions indicate the antiquity of wooden puppets.

TS Murugan of Sri Murugan Sangeet Bommalatta Sabha, who hails from a hereditary family practicing this folk art, says, “The art requires knowledge of music, literature and folk arts, skill in imitation, a sense of humor and tremendous stamina.”

“My father TN Sankaran, an award recipient from the Sangeet Natak Akademi, learned Carnatic music from several gurus, one of whom was Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai. Recognizing his talent, Mani Iyer of Mangalagana Sabha, Kumbakonam’s most popular wooden puppet company, asked my father to join his troupe as a singer and present dialogues. Since my father was visually impaired, he did not conduct for a few years. After a surgery he regained the sight in one eye,” he added. Murugan further said that, impressed by his father’s resonant singing in the wooden puppet shows organized during the Aagam Silpa Sadas, Kanchi Paramacharya honored him with the title of ‘Sankarandaan’.

Shankaran was highly respected even by music lovers. “E. Krishna Iyer – lawyer and founder-secretary of the Music Academy, once organized a puppet show at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mani Iyer decided to leave appa Back. However, Krishna Iyer insisted that the show cannot go on without my father and he was ready to cancel it if he was not available.

When Mani Iyer passed away, Shankaran decided to form his own company and thus Sri Murugan Music Bommalatta Sabha was born. New puppets had to be made for the company. While the carpenter made the torso and arms and legs, Shankaran’s wife made the faces and did the painting.

How big are the wooden puppets? “Puppets depicting children are usually about a foot tall, while puppets representing demons are three feet high and weigh up to 22 kilograms. Each puppet is brought to life using black wires,” explains Murugan.

Puppet (Bommalattam) show presented by Sri Murugan Sangeet Bommalatta Sabha at Chennai Sangamam festival in 2023. Photo courtesy: B. Jothi Ramalingam

While traditional stories from the epics and Puranas are part of his repertoire, Murugan has also adapted the traditional art form to address contemporary issues such as environmental conservation and AIDS awareness. New theme means making new props, new clothes etc. Some shows last for several hours. For example, recently a show on Harishchandra ran for six hours. Do audiences have the patience to sit through long shows? “It all depends on how interesting the show is.” This troupe has been performing at the Ramanathapuram Palace for almost 80 years.

A wooden puppet show begins with a herald introducing the story to the audience. This is followed by a ‘dancer’ performing a puppet cast, Thilana and a Tamil song. After this the actual thematic display begins. When the puppets are taken down to fix new props for the next scene, Trinity’s classical compositions are sung as interludes. Abhangas, bhajans and Purandaradasa works start with characters like Narada, while some productions start with puppet adaptations of folk forms like Karagam before starting the main story. Keeping in mind the changing preferences of the audience, film songs have also found a place in the repertoire.

Sequence showing Narada’s meeting with Vishnu. Such depictions would usually be accompanied by the singing of abhangas, bhajans and Purandarasara compositions. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Wooden puppets have also found a place in Tamil films. For example, Shankaran introduced the wooden puppet sequence in the Tamil film Kannakachi. InSigappu MalargalIn Yesudas’s song ‘Oru Bommalattam Nadakkuthu’ the four puppets of the troupe were operated by four men. But director SA Chandrashekhar wanted the focus to be on just one man. So in this scene only Shankaran was handling the puppets. in kamal hassan starrer IndianSukanya played the role of a puppet. The puppet show in this film was done by Murugan’s company.

Murugan has been in the field for over 45 years. He explains the difficulties the company has faced. At the age of ten, he has witnessed how, on one occasion, the troupe walked across a river carrying puppets on their heads, in trunks. When they reached the village where the show was to take place, they found that there was no electricity supply, and they had to make do with Petromax lights. Once when Shankaran was taking some puppets in a rickshaw, the rickshaw driver and he stopped to have a cup of tea, when a speeding truck hit the rickshaw, breaking eleven puppets.

Recently a suitcase full of puppets was stolen from a bus. When a complaint was lodged with the police, he told the congregation to be happy that they had not lost anything valuable. “Puppets are valuable. A puppet can cost between Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh. Besides, we were going for a show,” says Murugan, adding that wooden puppetry is not a folk art that is displayed in the open like other folk art forms. “It requires a stage, a script and should be classified as theatre.”

What is the future of art? “A show requires at least 15 trained persons. In my father’s time, there were around 600 people in the troupe, but now we have only a few permanent members. Most of them have taken up other jobs and attend shows only when they are free. While we continue to perform in the temples of Ramanathapuram and Salem districts, many temples that once hosted puppet shows have stopped continuing the tradition. Because, remuneration does not match the expenses.

However, Murugan is optimistic, as his brothers, Ravi and Gopi, and his sons, Karthikeyan and Sangeetha Sriram, have all been trained in the art. Youth Award winner Gopi even rejected a corporate job for this art. Nevertheless, Murugan believes that individual commitment alone cannot secure the future of this traditional folk art. “This art needs more government support if it is to be preserved for future generations,” he says.

published – July 28, 2026 04:46 PM IST