Puppetry, Progressive Art, and Tantricism

Long before cinema, television, or social media, India had its own powerful medium of storytelling that could make audiences laugh, cry, and think: puppetry. Alongside this ancient performance tradition, the mid-twentieth century saw a bold new wave in visual art that challenged everything the Bengal School stood for. And stretching back over a thousand years, the Tantric tradition quietly reshaped spiritual practice, gender norms, and even early scientific curiosity. This topic ties together these three distinct threads of Indian cultural history.

India’s Puppet Traditions: The Land of Puppets

India has been called the land of puppets, and for good reason. Puppet performance has served two purposes here for centuries: entertaining audiences and delivering moral lessons to society. The oldest literary evidence of Indian puppetry comes from the Silappadikaram, an ancient Tamil epic, confirming that this art form has deep historical roots.

Four Categories of Indian Puppetry

India’s puppet traditions fall into four distinct categories, each using a different mechanism to bring figures to life:

• String puppetry : Thin strings are attached to the puppet’s limbs, allowing the puppeteer to control hand and leg movements with speed and precision. Kathputli from Rajasthan is the most recognised example.
• Rod puppetry : This form grew out of string puppetry but replaced flexible strings with rigid rods for control. Putul Nautch is a well-known rod puppet tradition.
• Shadow puppetry : Flat, cut-out figures are held behind a translucent screen, and a light source projects their silhouettes onto it for the audience. Ravanachaya is a famous example of this form.
• Glove puppetry : Small puppets made of cotton or leather are worn directly on the hand. These are the tiniest puppets among all categories. Paavakoothu from Kerala represents this tradition.

Themes and Cultural Significance

Most puppet performances draw their stories from the epics and Puranas. Through tales of gods, heroes, and moral dilemmas, puppetry has been a window into India’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage, leaving a lasting impression on audiences across generations.

Puppetry and the Freedom Movement

Puppetry played a surprisingly important political role during the national movement. Puppet shows could draw large crowds in villages and towns, and performers used this platform to spread messages about the freedom struggle. Neel Darpan is one notable example of content communicated through such performances, showing how art became a tool of resistance.

Social Relevance Today

Children remain the primary audience for puppet shows, and reaching children means shaping the next generation’s values and imagination. Puppet performances have proven especially effective as a confidence-builder for physically and mentally challenged children. Beyond entertainment, puppetry also highlights India’s skill in the handicrafts sector, keeping alive traditions of carving, stitching, and painting that go into making these figures.

The Progressive Art Group: Breaking Away from Tradition

After India gained independence, a group of six painters decided that Indian art needed a completely new direction. This was the Progressive Art Group, whose founding members included S.H. Raza, M.F. Hussain, and four other artists. Their goal was ambitious: combine Indian subject matter with modern Western techniques like post-impressionism and cubism to create something entirely fresh.

How the Progressives Differed from the Bengal School

The two movements came from fundamentally different worldviews:

Aspect	Progressive Art Group	Bengal School of Art
Philosophical roots	The European Enlightenment, with its emphasis on science, social organisation, and economic development as central to human life	Spiritual idealism, showcasing the spiritual wealth of the East
Political outlook	Marxist and anti-imperialist; wanted art to connect with ordinary people’s daily lives	Romanticised the idea of independence without engaging directly with common life
Colour and technique	Vibrant colours, geometrical motifs, symmetry, and rhythmicity	Simple colours, revival of past literary traditions in a somewhat imitative manner
Creative ambition	Actively broke conventions and reimagined what art could look like	Took art back to ancient subject matter without pushing creative boundaries significantly

How the Progressives Differed from Classical European Art

The Progressive painters also positioned themselves against the traditional European approach to art:

• Human figures : Classical European painters prized anatomical precision when depicting people. The Progressives deliberately rejected this convention. F.N. Souza’s portrait of Suruchi Chand is a striking example of how they distorted and reimagined the human form to make an artistic statement.
• Choice of medium : Classical European art relied heavily on oil paint. The Progressives experimented freely with a range of mediums, including oil, watercolour, and others.
• Purpose of art : Classical Europeans treated art as something elevated, intended for elite appreciation. The Progressives wanted to reimagine art and bring it closer to everyday people, making it accessible rather than exclusive.

Tantricism: A Spiritual Tradition with Far-Reaching Impact

While the origins of Tantricism go back to the sixth century, the tradition gathered real strength from the eighth century onward and left a significant mark on Indian religion, society, and even early scientific thinking.

Core Features of Tantricism

Tantricism is often described as a simplification of the Vedic cults. Where Vedic rituals were elaborate and required extensive priestly knowledge, Tantric practice focused on prayers and the worship of a specific deity, making spiritual life more direct and accessible.

Several distinctive features set Tantricism apart:

• Veneration of the mother image : The mother figure held special importance in Tantric thought because life begins in the mother’s womb. This deep respect for the feminine creative force connected Tantricism closely with the Saka Sakti cult (the tradition of worshipping divine feminine energy).
• Central role of the guru : The guru held the highest position in the Tantric system. Joining a Tantric sect was not casual; anyone who wished to become a member had to go through a formal initiation conducted by a guru.
• Reinterpretation of Purusa and Prakriti : The Vedic philosophical categories of Purusa (soul) and Prakriti (matter) were given new meaning. In Tantric thought, Purusa came to represent man and Prakriti came to represent woman, turning abstract metaphysical ideas into a gendered framework.

Impact on Society and Culture

Tantricism’s influence extended well beyond the spiritual sphere:

• Semi-scientific discoveries : The Tantric fascination with magic led practitioners to experiment with chemicals and metals. Some of these experiments produced findings of a semi-scientific nature, making Tantricism an unexpected contributor to early material investigation in India.
• Cultural bridge with Tibet : Tantricism was strongest in north-eastern India and maintained close ties with Tibet. Some Tantric rituals drew directly from Tibetan practices, and this exchange strengthened the cultural connection between the two regions.
• Social inclusiveness : Unlike many other religious traditions of the time, Tantricism was open to all castes and to women. This openness helped erode both caste hierarchies and gender barriers within the communities it reached.
• Confidence in Hindu traditions : By suggesting that Hindu practices had a basis in systematic experimentation, Tantricism gave its followers confidence that their faith was grounded in something deeper than mere ritual.