Puppetry is an ancient folk art and its audiences have been declining steadily with the advent of cinema and television. While there are many variants, the underlying theme is storytelling and most of the stories are of the kings who ruled the states or from the epics and mythology.

Leather puppetry is a highly specialized form of puppetry and is well spread in the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and to a certain extent Tamil Nadu. It is also called Tholu-bommalata, 'tholu' meaning leather and 'bommalata' meaning puppet show. Unlike the traditional form of puppetry, the leather puppet is hidden behind a screen and only the shadow is visible to the audience, hence it is also called shadow theatre.

There is a lot of work behind a puppet show from making the puppets, to setting the stage and narrating the story. Even though the puppeteers are rather illiterate, it is absolutely amazing how they know the epics and every story within them by-heart and it's incredible that they can infuse life into a piece of skin, and thereby create a world of fantasy and colour behind the screen.

The brightly coloured puppets vary from four to six feet and have jointed shoulders, elbows, knees and at times waist, neck and ankles. Leather puppets are mostly made from goat skin, and while there was a time when puppets of the Gods were made from deer skin, this practice is no longer followed.

To make the puppet, first, the fur is removed and the raw skin is processed by soaking it in solution of salt and alum for at least twelve hours, then it is stretched and nailed on a plank to dry. Once completely dry, the skin is carefully scraped to give it the desired translucency.

Various parts of the puppet figures are drawn and cut out of the skin, generally using an older puppet as a model. Each community has their own well defined style of drawing as well as colour-schemes for their puppets which are strictly adhered to.

After being coloured the puppet-parts are perforated; when seen against the light, these perforations lend a twinkling effect akin to that of jewellery. The parts of the puppets are then joined together, and a bamboo stick is tied to keep the figure vertically straight while the arms, legs and head are movable.

To organize a shadow puppet show a simple stage is required. The puppets are placed behind a white transparent screen while the shadows of the puppets fall on the screen. The source of light is an electric lamp. While in the past, oil fed lamps lent a certain charm with its gentle shimmer of golden yellow light which even enhances the colours of the puppets, puppeteers nowadays use more modern techniques for lighting.

The puppeteers stand behind the white screen and manipulate the leather puppets by holding the tied bamboo stick at the middle. Individual parts of the puppets are manipulated with the help a stick nailed to the end of a puppet’s limb.

At times, the puppeteers stamp their feet for effect especially when the characters are involved in a tussle. The musical narration is very often simple and offers wonderful support to the visual on the screen; the puppeteers sing as well as deliver the dialogues for the puppet figures and musical interludes are provided by harmonium and percussion instruments.

The stories are almost always from the Ramayana, Mahabharata or about Lord Krishna, and in the past, the show would go on for hours and covering all the stories in an epic in great detail. Like many other dying art-forms, this one too now stands at the crossroads of innovation or preservation. But the passion of the people who work in this art form is so much that even fading audiences isn't a discouragement, and hopefully - with some patronage and encouragement -brighter days will come.