The Grand Indian Puppet Show

I was 12, taking part in a kids function.
Every year we would have a puppet show, but this time, the directors came up with a new concept. A 'human puppet' show.

I got to be the protagonist, main puppet i.e. All I had to initiate was facial expressions, rest of my movements, dialogue was read out from behind.

Then happened the glitch, my 'puppeteer' pulled me out of the scene. The threads tied around my wrists were being yanked by her. I protested by refusing to move. But she pulled me out anyways. But - the ppl reading the dialogues, unaware of the mess, went on reading.

But at least she apologized when she realized her mistake.

BCCI, owners of the most popular & talented set of puppets, seem least concerned to show any empathy towards the upkeep of their prized assets.

Puppet show is the biggest passion of Indians worldwide, regardless of citizenship. Erstwhile known as cricket, this new sport has stormed the entertainment and sports industry across the world(14 countries) often blurring the difference between the two.

Their shows may have had ups and downs, but commercial interest- brand endorsements, sponsorships- have never dipped.

And betting on this craze, the BCCI, created the grand Indian Puppet League.

It was a festival of great joy, as the indian puppets along with select offshore item numbers were auctioned off to welcoming harems.

But the game changer was the grand world cup. It wasn't a surprise that they put on the best show, the irony was that some members of the Indian govt. didn't allow the original world cup, to be lifted by their own Indian team, which is run by top govt. officials.

This years show scheduling has been intense for the Indian artistes. South Africa --> warm up matches --> world cup --> Indian puppet league --> Caribbean shows --> "the marquee" England tour--> champions league --> West indians in India --> England in India --> the kangaroos down under.

Not as much as 3-4 day gap between them. This has taken a toll on the performers, and they have been lackluster, specially in the marquee series.

MS Dhoni, lead puppet -"lack of rest has affected our performance." This seemed the only honest statement, rest of it was to the BCCI script.

When contacted about the issue, BCCI officials had to say that they were playing to the demand, and that everyone has to sacrifice at some point.

"Do you know how much effort it takes to plan these shows? To count the money? Elections and selections? That's just some of it." - an official who declined to be named said.

There have been major upheavals. They recently ousted one of the key puppeteers, L Modi. Among oother things, he was accused of having ownership in some of the franchises of the puppet league.

Though the league still functions in the same way, as it was before, except for the after-show parties being cancelled.

The move to oust him was headed by N Srinivasan, now Principal of the BCCI puppet shows, also owner of one of the IPL teams, which won the IPL last two times. Just saying.

So the future of Indian puppet shows, entails on the grand audition - IPL- who also have a chance to star in the five day shows, if they just stick around for a while. As characters storm in or limp out of the stage, no matter what the script has in store.