Phool Chand Bhatt pursues his ancestral profession of making puppets for both sale and to put up shows. He lives in Jaipur, but travels to wherever opportunity calls. Like to the Pushkar Camel Fair where he sets up shop for a fortnight every year.
He is one of the many who take a shop in the market for Rs. 5,000-10,000; these would typically be tailoring or grocery shops rest of the year. He sells his puppets starting at Rs. 100 a pair going up to a few thousand. The expensive ones come with proper strings for all parts to move. He also has some very old ones: he collects these from other performers in villages who have decided to give up this profession. There are many he buys for 30-35 Euros to sell for 100-150 Euros to foreigners. [continue reading…]
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