Through a powerful performance and eloquent talk, puppeteer Anupama Hoskere brings us the beauty of Indian Puppetry. As she makes sense of what it means to practice a traditional art form in contemporary times, Mrs. Hoskere unveils the relevance puppetry still holds in society as a form of entertainment, storytelling and upholding values. In what she calls a Puppetry 101, we visit Indian mythology to understand the origins and intricacies of puppetry. We also see the extra magic that traditional practices of proscenium design and chiseling a puppet into shape can add. Adding an interesting angle to puppetry, Mrs. Hoskere highlights the principles of engineering, mathematics, and light that figure in the process of designing a show. This performance-talk combination culminates with the idea that an art form like puppetry has a lot to teach us about life itself. A strong believer in the traditional wisdom offered by Indian culture, Anupama Hoskere founded Dhaatu, a non-profit organization focusing on disseminating traditional wisdom, lessons, and values, especially to young minds. Mrs. Hoskere is trained in the traditional puppetry of Karnataka. She creates the puppets, scripts and directs her puppet shows. With an engineering degree from BMS and a Master's degree from Cal State University, she now applies engineering principles in designing her own puppets. She is also a performing Bharathanatyam artist and member of the Karnataka Sangeeta Nrutya Academy. Last year she received the prestigious Sangeet Nataka Akademi Award. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at
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