LAHORE: Say Hello to CutPutli - A Puppet Making Manual for Children - developed by The Little Art (TLA) and designed by Duck to revive the art of storytelling for local children.

In an effort to create awareness about the tradition and culture of storytelling through puppets among children and youth, Cutputli has been introduced as a fun toolbox for children to make puppets themselves. It is also a learning aid for parents and teachers to teach concepts through stories.

For last eight years TLA has been working to promote various art forms for children and young people so they can explore their creative potential and express themselves.

“Last year we worked on puppetry from a child’s perspective to understand it, make it simple, easy and fun learning for children. The result, CutPutli is here”,

Shoaib Iqbal, the moving spirit behind TLA told Dawn.

“CutPutli” is a locally-made, high-quality puppetry manual designed by a local design company. The manual is in both English and Urdu for better understanding. It includes a visual demonstration of step-by-step process of puppet making. Materials required for making puppets are also provided along with the manual. One can make four simple puppets with the help of manual using simple materials such as paper plate, disposable spoon, cup and sticks.

Mr 1qbal floated the idea to produce something that could set the tone of defining puppetry for local children to engage them as puppeteers. It was also important for Iqbal and his team to develop something that was completely local and something children from all backgrounds could relate to. The idea of Cutputli emerged from this collective understanding and the belief that every child is a puppeteer.

“Cutputli is a new beginning for TLA where we have manifested all our love for learning. It is always very important for us to create opportunities for children that also nurture their creative abilities. Through Cutputli we hope to develop a culture where local and original stories are created by children themselves” said Shoaib Iqbal, TLA director.

The message that Cutputli aims to take forward is the importance of puppetry as an indigenous art form. It was developed using colorful imagery and every single piece of work that it represents is original.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play