Ritisha Bajaj (Class VIII)

 

RITISHA BAJAJ (CLASS VIII)

LAKSHMIPAT SINGHANIA ACADEMY, KOLKATA

 I have made the kathputli of Radha & Krishna. Kathputli is a string puppet theatre, native to Rajasthan, India, and is the most popular form of Indian Rajasthani puppetry. Kathputli is an amalgamation of two Rajasthani words Kath meaning wood and Putli meaning a doll. Kathputli means a puppet which is made entirely from wood. However, it is made out of wood, cotton cloth and metal wire. One finds its reference in Rajasthani folk tales, ballads and sometimes even in folk songs. Similar puppets which are rod-puppets, are also found in West Bengal. But it is truly Rajasthan's amazing kathputli which made India one of the first countries to invent its traditional puppetry. Tribes of Rajasthan have been performing this art from ancient times and it has become an eternal part of the diverse Rajasthani culture and tradition. No village fair, no religious festival and no social gathering in Rajasthan can be complete without the Kathputlis. We all know, Goddess Radha and Lord Krishna are collectively known within Hinduism as one of the most worshipped forms of God. With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess and it is said that Krishna or God is only satiated by devotional service in loving servitude and Radha is the personification of devotional service to the supreme Lord. Various devotees worship her with the understanding of her merciful nature as the only way to attain Krishna. Radha is also depicted to be Krishna himself, split into two, for the purpose of His enjoyment. Krishna is pictured in Hindu symbology with a crown of peacock feathers, playing the flute. Krishna is the ideal of divine love, the God of love. And the divine love expresses itself by entering a man and filling his whole being. Therefore, the flute is the human heart. Through my creation, I wanted to portray that the music which comes out of Krishna’s flute, or as known in Hindi as bansuri, has healing powers which help in reviving nature back to its original form. This is Krishna’s role in healing the world. Radha is worshipped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion and devotion. As a supreme Goddess in these traditions, She is considered as the eternal female counterpart and the internal potency (hladini shakti) of Krishna, who resides with Him in their abode Goloka. By the 3D model of Radha in the garden, I wanted to depict that it is love, devotion and respect for each other which can heal the world. This is how I think Radha and Krishna can heal the world and revive it back like it was in the older times- greenery and nature would fascinate us all. How did I make this model? First, I rolled and folded a piece of newspaper to make the base of the body of the kathputli. Then, I took aluminum foil to make the structure of the body. Then, covering it with tissue paper and thread, I also put some clay to make the shape a bit fine. Next, I took M Seal to make the shape of the face. While it was drying and hardening, I sewed and made some clothes for the kathputli. I even decorated the clothes with laces and stones. Then, I painted the face, hands and legs of the kathputli- Radha in peach colour and Krishna in blue colour. Next, I used a game box and some thermocol to make the base of the garden. Then wrapping it with blue fabriano paper and green velvet paper, I made the garden colourful. I even arranged a wood piece and wrapped it with red paper to make the swing in the garden. I made holes on the top of the game box and put the strings of the swing in it and stuck it with glue gun. Next, I decorated the garden with artificial flowers and leaves. Then taking some M Seal, I made a ball which was our earth. While it was drying, I completed the face of Radha and Krishna by pasting some eyes and drawing lips, making hair for them using some wool. Then I put some jewellery on the kathputli, I made them look like the real Radha and Krishna. I even added some stones on Radha’s hair so that it looked more like her. Next, I painted the M Seal ball and put a plant on top of it. After all the things were ready, I assembled them together in the garden- Radha on the swing, Krishna standing beside him, and the earth in Radha’s lap. I even used some focus lighting in front of the art work.