This is a leather puppet of Ravana. Ravana, the king of Lanka who abducted Sita, is a prominent character in the Ramayana. Sita’s husband, Rama, waged war on Ravana to rescue his wife. After a prolonged search, Sita was found in Lanka. Rama fought Ravana, killed him and rescued his wife. Puppets such as these are used for shadow plays, which are staged on festive occasions. Many of the themes are religious, drawn from epic myths, historical tales and sometimes fables. There are very few individual characters like Ravana and Hanuman. In the early days of these shadow puppets, they were strongly influenced by contemporary westernisation. Today, western cinema and popular culture have an effect on them, as shown in this puppet wearing riding boots. These puppets record the changing times of history.
