From the Land of the Rajas:

Creativity in Rajasthan

Throughout India, folk theater is part of a vast overlapping continuum, encompassing bardic recitations of oral epics, puppetry, magicians and street performers, and troupes of traveling regional-language performers.  These dramas are often presented at festivals and fairs.  Many features found in early Sanskrit theater still continue in modern folk theater, including the sanctification of the stage with preliminary rituals, a “stage manager” character who organizes the action, the appearance of clowns who provide comic commentary, advancing the story through a combination of text, music, gesture, and dance; the use of a relatively plain and open stage with minimal scenery; and the common telling of traditional stories from epics, myths, and ballads.  In Rajasthan, kings are the main subjects of both the puppet plays and the khyal drama.

Puppets
Photo by Shalini Ayyagari, Jaisalmer, 2005–06