Chekka Bommalata of Burugupeta Village, Telangana State-Wooden String Puppets of Buruguteta

Chekka Bommlata, also known as Koyya Bommlata, is a traditional form of wooden string puppetry that was performed at Kala Ashram in Adilabad, Telangana State, Bharata Desha. It was an incredible honour for Sphoorthi Theatre to organize this event.

Great to see the octogenarians Mothe Ramaswamy and Mothe Yadagiri of Burugupeta village, Venkapuram Mandal, Bhupalpalli (Prof. Jayashankar) District, Warangal, Telangana State, India at Kala. They both live in Burugupeta village.

String puppetry, also known as Chekka Bommlata or Koyya Bommlata, is a source of pride for the state of Telangana. There are currently two Mothe troupes that perform it; the first is from Ammapuram and is quite well known, and the other is from Burugupeta. 

Earlier today, I published a post titled "The Decline of Traditional Wooden Puppetry in Telangana in 2012," which goes into detail regarding the Mothe Troupe of Ammapuram.

Both the Mothe Ammapuram troupe and the Mothe Burugupeta troupe are connected to one another through a shared ancestry and family tree. The Beda Budiga Jangam Community is where they call home. The fact that members of this Budiga Jangam community excel at vocal singing, music rendition, and various forms of folk art sets them apart from other communities. In addition to Bommalalollu, Sarada Kala Rupamvalu, Kakipapala, Ganayeti, and Mandhechchu, Buduga Jangam is an artistic community that consists of more than 24 subcommunities.

The Buduga, on the other hand, is a type of percussion instrument that is typically played during the narration of Jangam Kathas or Kathalu. In Telugu, this instrument is also known as Buduga, Budiga, Dikki, and Gummeta. All of these names refer to the same thing. This Buduga Jangam community is known for its role as the region's traditional storytellers, having passed down myths, epics, and heroic tales for generations.

In addition to this, they were responsible for the funeral rites for the Saivites, for which they were compensated in the form of Beda or byada coins. Therefore, you might also hear them referred to as Beda Jangam or Beda Budiga Jangam. This is how they pronounce it, but 8 Beda or Byada is equivalent to Re-1/-, and 16 Ek Anna is equivalent to 8 Bydalu.

In his natural state, Budiga Jangaluvalu is a nomadic hunter and gatherer of edible plants and animals. The current generation, on the other hand, has a high level of education and has decided to pursue a different line of work as a means of supporting themselves. Mothe Shankar, the grandson of Mothe Ramaswamy, who is now in his eighties, is a photographer and owns his own photography studio. It is his responsibility to lead the Burugupeta Bommalata troupe. Mothe Yadagiri and Mothe Ramaswamy are instructing not only him but also his brothers, cousins, and his own son in their martial arts techniques. They have a sense of pride in the art form because it has been passed down through their family, which is distinctive.

In 1995, while conducting a baseline survey study on "local folklore artists," Professor Bhkatavasal Reddy and his team from the Telugu Folklore Department of Telugu University, Warangal made the discovery of Bommalollu of Burugupeta. The Burugupeta troupe had not performed bommalata for the previous ten to fifteen years. They learned from them about another troupe from a defunct state that lived in Ammapuram. This other troupe was located there.

In 1995, the university hosted a national conference, and as a first step towards the renaissance of the art form, they provided a stage for traditional puppeteers to perform on. This was seen as an important milestone in the process.

The traditional puppeteers, on the other hand, appeared to be quite anxious about the performance and gave a presentation that lasted for half an hour. Small rays of hope started to appear as a result of the unwavering support that Prof. Bhaktavasal Reddy and his team provided.

Despite this, both Professor Thirumal Rao and Sri Manikonda Vedakumar, Chairman of Deccan Heritage Trust Academy, Hyderabad put in significant effort to collaborate with the Ammapuram troupe. In the past, the Ammapuram troupe visited all twenty-three districts of the state that was formerly known as Andhra Pradesh.

Ammapuram bommalattavalu gained popularity sooner rather than later. They put on performances in a number of different states, which required travel. However, members of the Ammapuram Bommalollu generation that are alive today have no interest in practicing this art form.

As part of my research study, I contacted the Burugupeta troupe and they willingly accepted the invitation to perform at Kala Ashram, Adilabad.

However, Mothe Shankar is only the point of contact, and despite the fact that he is passionate about this art form, he has not received extensive training in it. Even his brothers have not yet achieved mastery in this art form, which consists of making puppets and performing 16 different puppet plays.

Mothe Ramesh-younger brother of Mothe Shankar is a singer and has taken an active part in Telangana Movement. Presently is a member of Dhum-Dhaam Telangana.

It was during this interaction that Shri Ravinder Sharma Ji, who is affectionately known as Guruji, surprised everyone by providing additional information about an elderly woman who had one string puppet and went all around Adilabad. Now that we have this piece of information, we can proceed with our investigation into Bommolollu.

On March 27, 2017, Burugupeta Bommallolu presented a performance of "Lava-Kusha," which was taken from the Uttara Ramayana. The performance lasted for a total of two hours. A regular occurrence of the power going out turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The performance started while there was still some daylight left. The alluring allure of a quaint country village pervaded the environment as dusk and darkness crept inexorably closer. Earthen lamps lit as a true rescuer. The flickering light of the earthen lamp allowed us to watch the authentic traditional puppet play, which mesmerized us with the village life.

This is the origin of  the Mothe Bommalollu family

Mothe Bommalollu family tree from Burugupeta

Puppeteers maneuvering puppets 

The Burugupeta troupe of  10 members of four generations holding puppets 

Octogenarian Mothe Yadagiri and Mothe Ramaswamy at the extreme left

Kala Ahsram Shri Ravinder Sharma Guruji  honoured the artists  and seen along with them

Burugupeta team participated at Dhaatu International Puppet Festival 2019, Bengaluru. They performed "Lava Kusha" from the Uttara Ramayana play. It was a wonderful sight to see Mothe Yadgiri leading performance by all four generations of his family.

 Sri Rama, Lakshman, Bharath and Shatrugna-All four brothers

 Sita Devi with her maid

               Lava- One of the Twin sons of Lord Sri Ram