Puppets are a kind of doll. They are used as characters in puppet shows. People who watch see the puppets full of life and spirit. Puppets need specially trained people called puppeteers to work them. They use their fingers, or strings or roads to skillfully handle the puppets.

The most common types of puppets are string puppets, rod puppets, hand or glove puppets, shadow puppets, and ventriloquists’ figures. Puppets have been made out of many types of material, including paper, cloth, wood, and leather, metal and plastic.

String puppets are also known as marionettes. They are moved by strings attached to a puppet with joints. The puppeteer controls the movements of the joints by a wooden piece held above the stage. In Rajasthan, there are known as `Kathputli’.

Rod puppets have rods attached to parts of their bodies, which control them. In theatres, rod puppeteers are hidden behind cloth curtains. In India, rod puppets are common in Orissa and west Bengal.

Hand or glove puppets are worn like a glove over a puppeteer’s hand and arm. The fingers and wrist of the operator control the puppet’s movement. The Radha –Krishna hand puppet shows are popular in Orissa.

In shadow puppetry the shadows of figures are cast onto a white cloth screen. Usually the audience sits on one side of the screen. The puppeteers moves he puppets n the other side of the screen n front of a light. This style of puppetry has been popular in Asia for thousands of years. People there have long believed that shadow puppets stand for real spirits. So, in India, Thailand, and Malaysia, two ancient Hindu epics have been staged as shadow puppet plays for many centuries. These are Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The Ramayana is the source for the story in all major Indian puppet traditions. The Sunderkand, which deals with the heroic deeds of Hanuman, is the most popular one.

In Vietnam, water puppet shows are held during traditional village celebrations.

Puppeteers remain hidden behind a bamboo screen in shallow pond. They control the figures from below by strings running through hollow bamboo poles kept underwater. The surface of the pond serves as the stage.

Ventriloquists’ puppets share the stage with them. During performances, ventriloquists make the audience feel their figures re liking are talking with them. Puppetry is believed to have begun thousands of years ago, even before written language did. So we will never know how, why, or in what form the first puppets were used. Perhaps it began when cave people placed their hands near a fire to cast shadows on walls.

Puppets have been used to spread awareness about religion. They are also used as toys, and to amuse or educate people around the world.

Ventriloquist: - one who has mastered ventriloquism (the art of speaking without moving your lips, so the sound seems to come from someone else).

Epics: - long poems that tell the story of what gods or important people did in ancient times.