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18th May 2012

Images by J. Adam Huggins

The king of the puppets

by Annalisa Merelli

With his big black moustache, Rajesh Gurjagour looks like someone who has just come out from a book of fairy tales. And so does his profession: puppeteer.

Not far from Udaipur city palace, Rajesh (as his dad before him) makes traditional Rajasthani puppets, gives them life in his small backside theatre, and teaches the art of marionettes to a few national and international students.

And while in many other shops around Udaipur (and Rajasthan) it's easy to find traditional puppets, not many places offer such a variety of subjects, ranging from richly adorned royal couples riding camels to the signature rope Ganesha, from the woman who plays with the ball to the man who loses his head.

Moreover, it's not easy to find someone who's able - like Rajesh - to bring his characters to life. You won't believe the way a marionette can dance, play, move; it won't take long to understand why Rajesh's theatre tours - and charms - the world.

As they say, it's never to late for a happy childhood. So if you're in Udaipur, pop into Rajesh's store and get back five minutes of yours.

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University of Arts
166, Jagdish Marg
City Palace Road, Udaipur
Ph. +91.294.242.2591
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Annalisa Merelli is the editor of The India Tube.

J. Adam Huggins is an independent documentary photographer. His work can be seen on his website.

COMMENTS

"Hi Sue, thank you for sharing your experience. I go watch a puppet show in that shop every time I go to Udaipur and always enjoy it a lot, without necessarily having to buy anything from Mr Gurjagour. I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience there, thought I still think it's worth going to see the show, and maybe, given what you said, being careful before buying anything. "

- Annalisa

"hello, nice picture. I would like to warn people who go to Udaipur. Dont buy from this shop!!!!! The owner (he has a big beard) is a really bad person. We bought from him nice puppets, we talk long time with him, he even made a puppet show for us. We had chai together. Till there everything was very great. We asked him to take a picture with him, he said ok for sure! and right after said out loud to himself, in hindi: Ghore Ghore Bandar, wich means White Monkeys. A very racist insult. He tought we wouldnt understand. What an hippocrit!! So dont go there, we are very dissapointed with this bad person. And plus he sells very expensive. Very bad experience. "

- sue