Imbibing elements from painting, sculpture, dance, song, secular themes or folklore, the end result was a vibrant layered form, the individual mechanics notwithstanding, where puppets could talk, sing, dance, play, fight and fly. Traditional puppet plays have always been embedded in the cultural and religious ethos of the regions where they originated. The forms of puppetry prevalent in India are mainly rod, glove, string and shadow. The prime objective of this form of communication has been to entertain while catering to the religious sentiments and educational needs of the audience. Like traditional folk theatre, themes for puppet theatre are mostly based on epics and legends and were part of an oral tradition.

The term Sutradhar commonly used in traditional theatre, referring to the narrator, literally means the holder of strings. The genesis of puppetry in India is in folk theatre. Mention of ivory and mechanized puppets in the Kamasutra too reflects the antiquity and popularity of puppet plays in India. Historical records of Andhra Pradesh indicate that this art was in vogue in the 4th century BC. References to a wooden puppet, manipulated by a string are found in Indian epic, the Mahabharat. The string manipulated puppet as a form of entertainment is a legacy of the Indus Valley Civilization. In India, puppetry is one of the most ancient forms of folk art and has long been one of the primary forms of traditional entertainment.

Shadow puppetry for rural areas