Arthshila Santiniketan’s Film Showcase this week features 3 films, ‘Chitrakathi’, ‘The Nomad Puppeteer’ by Mani Kaul & ‘Six Strands’ by Chaitanya Tamhane.

Chitrakathi: This film traces the evolution of Chitrakathi, a folk form available in the Konkan area of Maharashtra, while revealing the transformation being brought about by the modern life. Chitrakathi arose in temples, from the Paithan paintings of mythological figures and the desankritised epics in vibrant Marathi, following Sant Dyaneshwar and the non-Brahmin saints of the Bhakti

The Nomad Puppeteer:  A brief cinematographic report on the string puppets of Rajasthan, their traditional method of manipulation, changing idiom and the living conditions of the puppeteers who live nomadic life. The circulation of films in India through a wide distribution system has made the travels of these nomad puppeteers completely ineffectual. The average puppeteer’s repertoire consists of the ancient dance and drama entertainment. In the absence of puppeteering work, they have developed two distinct but allied skills: making of statues and selling puppets as toys, as also street singing.

Six Strands: A lonely, mysterious woman in the hills of Darjeeling produces the most elusive and expensive tea in the world. Plucked under mysterious conditions, the ‘Moonlight Thurston’ tea triggers layered sensations encompassing taste, memory, love and pleasure. The film juxtaposes the exploitation of the tea garden workers with the aesthetic quest and isolated life of the mysterious person responsible for it.

Join us for the screening on 20th May 2022, Friday, 6:00 p.m onwards.