Tholpavai Koothu is a form of shadow puppetry that is practiced in Tamil Nadu , India.Tholpavakoothu is a compound word of three terms, thol, meaning leather/skin, pavai, meaning doll, and koothu, meaning the play.


The performance language uses Tamil, Sanskrit and English words to keep it relevant to audiences today. The form has been in existence for about 400 years and is the pride of Tamil Nadu Folk arts. The actual performance an outstanding experience that is held together by one puppeteer who performance all the voices, actions and the story, he is accompanies usually by his wife/son to assist him. Live instruments are also present who work in collaboration with the puppeteer. The entire family is involved with a form like this - from the creation of the puppet, the set, the music and the actual narrative, what we see is only the final product of a very long tedious process.

The form is also prevalent in Andra, Orissa, Thailand and Indonesia, where they mainly perform stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The last few decades has seen a steady decline of this art (among other folk arts) in rural areas since audiences have migrated to the television and cellphones for their daily entertainment. It is up to us to continue to support and nourish these art forms as much as possible.