Name: Tholpavakoothu's Ramayana
Start: 2025-12-19T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-12-19T21:00:00-05:00
Location: 10 Mayo St, Portland, ME, United States, Maine 04101

Believed to have originated in the 9th or 10th century A.D., Tholpavakoothu is a sacred art form performed annually in temples as a festival dedicated to Goddess Bhadra Kali. This mesmerizing shadow puppet play is based on the Kamba Ramayana and is traditionally performed in Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and English. Rooted in Indian mythology, Tholpavakoothu is believed to have been created for Goddess Bhadra Kali, who missed witnessing the battle between Sree Rama and Ravana due to her own fight against the demon king Darikasura. To appease her, Lord Shiva directed that the Ramayana battle be enacted on earth through puppetry a tradition that continues to this day.
This rare and unique blend of shadow puppetry, narration, and music brings to life the timeless stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, portraying the eternal struggle between good and evil. Rahul Koonathara, an accomplished artist and a 12th generation shadow puppet practitioner, has dedicated his life to preserving and showcasing this extraordinary art form on national and international platforms.
Tholpavakoothu’s ancient, ritually rooted performance is based on verses from the Kamba Ramayana, the Tamil version of the Hindu epic the Ramayana. The performance includes 71 different characters, and over 160 different shadow figures.
While traditional Tholpavakoothu shadow theater takes in temples as ritual performance, Ramachandra Pulavar and his family have popularized the form by performing a variety of stories of contemporary social relevance, about Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ, and the empowerment of women, as well as performances based on traditional tales from the Mahabharata and the Panchatantra.
Tholpavakoothu shadow figures follow four main design categories: sitting, standing, walking, and fighting puppets, as well as puppets depicting nature, battle scenes, and ceremonial processions. The Pulavar family has continued the age-old tradition of shadow puppetry for the past 12 generations with all the traditional ritualistic performances while simultaneously incorporating contemporary narratives. The ensemble performs yearly in around 85 temples in Kerala from January to May as part of their tradition in the permanent shadow puppet theatre erected in temples.