Abstract:

Tholpavakoothu is a ritual shadow puppet art form that is rooted for more than 300 years in Kerala. As a design research, the goal is to look at the transitions of the art form according to the advancement in communication technologies. However, since Tholpavakoothu has deep-rooted social interdependencies, considering these transitions from a single perspective will not give a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the topic. So, this research adopts a holistic approach and takes into account the cultural, political, religious, and economic dimensions of the research area. An ethnographic approach becomes necessary to address the tradition while trying to understand the Tholpavakoothu from the perspective of the communities involved with it. Thus, this research work particularly focuses on engaging with the puppeteer communities and try to understand how their changing perspectives impact the art form.