Rajish was a local puppeteer, whose shop was just down the street from the City Palace. I spent quite a while with him, meeting his family and watching some of their puppet performances. Puppetry has been in his family for generations, but now both of his sons are studying computers at college and he doesn’t expect the family tradition to be continued. He was excited to have traveled to Germany to perform and had hoped to also perform at some arts festivals in the United States, but even a tourist visa is exceptionally difficult to get for Indians visiting the US. Hundreds of his puppets are on display at the Masala Zone Restaurant in Convent Garden, London.
Click on the photo for a larger view.