Jugalbandi of puppetry and qawwali

A qawwali, written by V Hemalatha, was presented by the Nori Art and Puppetry Centre at Saptaparni, Banjara Hills, recently to mark World Puppetry Day. The qawwali narrated the story of a wild bear Bhallu that dreams of coming to Hyderabad. One day, he makes up his mind and comes to the city where he becomes friends with a few kids and comes to the attention of the villain, Madari. Madari decides to capture the bear and use him for monetary gains. The characters were voiced by K Siddharth, Radha Mamidipudi, Krithi Sethi, Manasa, Akhil, V Kesav Rao and Sarma Nori, and the music was composed by Mangatai. Puppeteers Parameshwari, Shehanaz Begum, Ambica, Momin, Momeera, Sarma Nori and Ratnamala Nori were a part of the event.