This 400-Year-Old Puppeteer Tribe Once Served as Spies for Shivaji

Once spies for Shivaji, the 400-year-old Thakar tribe is reviving its lost art of puppeteering and storytelling.

A beautiful Thakar painting on the trunk of a tree in the Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery. 

(Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

(This article was first published on 27 March 2016, and is being re-posted from The Quint’s archives to mark the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji.)

If you were travelling along the busy Mumbai-Goa highway, chances are you’ll completely miss the village of Pinguli.

But here’s why you shouldn’t.

Nestled amidst the lush Sahyadri hills, this village – for over 400 years – has been home to the Thakars, a tribe of painters, puppeteers and storytellers.

In the olden times, these skilled artists worked as spies for powerful Maratha kings such as Shivaji.

In the olden times, these skilled artists worked as spies for powerful Maratha kings such as Shivaji. (Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

As they moved from village to village, door to door, narrating stories from the <i>Ramayana</i> and the <i>Mahabharata</i> through paintings and puppetry, they would pick up information and extract political information to pass on to the Maratha chiefs.

Chetan Gangavane, a seasoned puppeteer hailing from the Thakar community

However, with time – as the power of the Maratha kings waned – the role of Thakar artists as spies came to a halt as well.

“The art forms didn’t generate as much income as before. People began to turn to other professions,” informs 27-year-old Gangavane. “We are a very well-educated tribe. My grandfather was part of the first batch to pass out of IIT Powai. We now have doctors, engineers, teachers, and more.”

A special session with students. (Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

Of Painting on Tree Trunks and Retelling the Mahabharata

Sadly, over time, the focus shifted from these rare art forms, which began to die a silent death – until Gangavane’s father, Parshuram, decided to take matters in his own hands.

Our community is known for 11 rare art forms. There is no other tribe in Maharashtra which can boast of so many.

<b>Chetan Gangavane</b>

Parshuram Gangavane established the Thakar Adivasi Kala Aangan Museum and Art Gallery in May, 2006. (Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

So, to conserve these traditional arts, Parshuram Gangavane established the Thakar Adivasi Kala Aangan Museum and Art Gallery in May, 2006.

This national award-winning folk artist was felicitated by the state government in 2009 for his role in the preservation of folk arts. His sons, Chetan and Eknath, now aid him in his efforts. While the former has done a diploma in information technology, Eknath is an engineer – but both have decided to devote their time and efforts to the art of their community.

The path to the museum, flanked by tall palm trees on either side, offers a glimpse of the tribe’s traditional form of painting, done using natural colours – the chitrakathi. Myths and legends have been painted on to the tree trunks with immense dexterity by the artists. The museum – a modest space spread across two rooms – features chitrakathi paintings from Gangavane’s collection, some of these being 300 years old.

A Thakar outdoor painting. (Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

“There are 20 on display here. And there are some 300 to 400 lying in my cupboard,” smiles Gangavane.

Traditionally, chitrakathi art was created on festive occasions in village temples, accompanied by oral renditions of the Ramayana or Mahabharata. With the help of patrons such as the Raja of Sawantwadi, the art acquired a more enduring form as the artists began to paint on handmade paper.

The Thakar retelling of the Ramayana may take you by surprise, as it is slightly different from the regular version that we know of.

Our version is peppered with folk tales – of benevolent spirits, of battles between Thakar artists and demons, of the forest deities and more.

<b>Chetan Gangavane</b>

A Thakar outdoor painting in process. (Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

How the Thakars are Teaching Their Art to Visitors

The other art forms that the Thakars are famous for are – kalsutri bahulya, or string puppetry, as part of which they make their own marionettes using wood and cloth. Then there is tamra or leather shadow puppetry.

“These come in the category of handicrafts. But we are known for our performing arts as well, such as the Radha Nrutya, as part of which a man dresses up as Radha,” he says. Apparently, no marriage in the Thakar community is considered complete without a Radha Nrutya.

There is also Fughdya, which is performed by the women folk of the village during Ganeshotsav.

Thakar Pothraja Gondhal. (Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

Besides holding regular performances, the Gangavanes conduct artist workshops as well. Such is the popularity of these that students from across disciplines – fine arts, fashion design, architecture – visit the museum for residential workshops.

We get visitors from India and abroad. For those who wish to stay and learn in Pinguli, we have started a homestay as well.

<b>Chetan Gangavane</b>

Besides holding regular performances, the Gangavanes conduct artist workshops as well. (Photo Courtesy: Kala Aangan Museum & Art Gallery)

For a sum of Rs 1,500, you can get meals, unlimited tea and lodging. “We are not here for the money or numbers. We just want to save our arts and help students learn,” he says.

ENDNOTE: For more information on the museum and homestay, visit http://pingulichitrakathiart.com/

(Avantika Bhuyan is a freelance journalist who loves to uncover the invisible India hiding in nooks and crannies across the country.)