How this Tholpavakoothu institute in Thrissur is giving a major fillip to the art form

Dusk settles in. A cotton cloth is stretched across the stage. Behind it, 21 lamps flicker with flames swaying and occasionally flaring. That is when the story of Maya Sita, an illusory double of Sita from later Ramayana adaptations, begins to unfold.

Ram’s exile from Ayodhya, his encounters with Mareech and Shoorpanakha in the forest, his alliance with Bali, the final battle with Ravana, and Sita’s trial by fire — each moment plays out through puppets.