I never even dreamed of this: Anupama Hoskere on Padma Shri

On January 25, puppeteer Anupama Hoskere from Bengaluru was called by the Home Minister’s office with a request to accept the Padma Shri award. “I never even dreamed of winning a Padma Shri award — it wasn’t even in my sphere!This award is a shared one for those who have supported me on the journey,” says Hoskere.

The former engineer, who founded the puppet theatre and culture education centre Dhaatu in 2004, says that it was after the first edition of the National Puppet Festival in 2009, that she realised the extent of the craze and love for puppetry. “The turnout was twice of what we expected!” shares Hoskere, who has taken her puppet shows to France, Belgium, Italy and Czech Republic. “Everywhere we go, people tell us that we bring puppetry straight from its motherland! So, in 2012, we decided to start hosting an International Puppet Festival where more than 100 artists come together to discuss and share the art of puppetry,” says Hoskere.

Talking about the impact of this win, Hoskere hopes that accolades for puppeteers might help bring the ancient art form into focus again. “In our country, the whole concept of puppetry has been sidelined. I remember I used to go around requesting for time on stage and we would be in waiting lists because no one saw the importance of a puppetry performance,” says Hoskere, adding, “We’ve worked on bringing an awareness about the beauty and utility of this art form. This win means that we have an understanding of how precious puppetry is to this nation. We feel that we will be thoroughly supported henceforth. The next step is to make this art accessible to the people.”