Journeying into the world of puppets

Dubai - Show titled The Journey of Life has been done in collaboration with Padmashri Dadi Pudumjee and Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust.

Discover The Journey of Life- Rihlat Al Hayat with India's foremost puppeteer Dadi Padumjee and the Ishara Puppet Trust.
Set to take place at the GEMS Modern Academy today at 6pm and January 25 at 5pm and 7pm, at the school's auditorium, the production is a first of its kind theatre show in the UAE. Rihlat Al Hayat - The Journey of Life has been done in collaboration with Padmashri Dadi Pudumjee and Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust is a kaleidoscope of puppetry, poetry, theatre, art and music.
The show revolves around the rich immortal words of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Persian poet Jalaluddin Rumi, Khalil Gibran and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore come alive in the journey, traversing the miles from the past to the present and beyond.
From crafting larger than life props themselves to weaving a story line and perfecting intricate dance moves, 104 children from grades 7 to 11 children attended a month-long workshop to understand the nuances of putting up a show of this magnitude. Akshaj Sureshkumar is one of the youngest members of the cast and crew. "It opened up a whole new world for me," said Sureshkumar.
A leading puppeteer and founder of the Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, Dadi was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1992. As President of Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA), the worldwide puppetry organisation, he has taken traditional Indian and contemporary puppetry to a world forum.
"Collaboration is the key to creative growth bringing different disciplines together," Paumjee said. "Nothing is isolated or separate as an element. Puppetry is simply a medium to communicate intrinsic messages woven into the narrative of the play. All art forms are a social narrative and you just have to express as creatively and as effectively as you can."
"I believe in providing children experiences that allow them to push their own boundaries and discover facets of themselves which they never knew existed," said Nargish Khambatta, principal, GEMS Modern Academy.
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