Chadar Badar

Chadar Badar, also known as Santhal Puppetry, is a tribal performing art of the Santhal people,^[1] mainly found in the Indian states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Assam.^[2][3] Once a dying art form, it was revived by the efforts of social activists such as Ravi Dwivedi and exponents like Sukan Mardi^[2] and Daman Murmu.^[4] The Government of West Bengal has set up a National Puppet Museum at Kankurgachi to preserve the art forms of puppetry including Chadar Badar.^[5]

Chadar Badar is performed with the assistance of wooden puppets hung inside a wooden box, open on three or four sides with curtains. The performer narrates stories by words and verse from ancient Santhal culture using the puppets, accompanied by tribal musical instruments.^[4] The painted puppets are 5 to 9 inches tall and has movable limbs, manipulated by the performer, using strings attached to them.^[3][6]