{"product_id":"rama-avatar-in-tholu-bommalata-by-sindhe-siva","title":"Rama Avatar in Tholu Bommalata by Sindhe Siva","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis regal Tholu Bommalata artwork by Sindhe Siva depicts Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu and the central hero of the Ramayana, rendered through the traditional shadow puppetry of Andhra Pradesh in a form that embodies both divine authority and moral steadfastness. As the figure around whom the entire epic, and much of Tholu Bommalata's traditional repertoire, revolves, Rama occupies a place of particular significance within the artist's body of work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTholu Bommalata, the \"dance of leather puppets\" is a shadow theatre tradition of the Telugu-speaking Deccan with a history reaching back some two thousand years, its performances historically drawn from a Telugu version of the Ramayana compiled for the shadow stage, alongside episodes from the Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana. Puppets are cut from goat, deer or buffalo hide, cleaned and treated over roughly two weeks until translucent, then hand-painted with natural dyes and finely perforated so that, held before a lit screen, each figure glows as a vivid, coloured shadow. Sindhe Siva continues this craft as an eighth-generation puppeteer of the Nimmalakunta lineage in Dharmavaram, Anantapur district, a family recognised with National and State awards for their contribution to the tradition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRama is shown here with his traditional blue-toned complexion, his garments rendered in red and orange patterned with fine dotted detailing, complemented by a flowing green upper garment draped diagonally across his torso and trimmed with gold borders throughout. His crown rises in elaborate tiers of red and gold, matched by large circular earrings, a beaded necklace, and ornamented armlets and anklets worked in the fine gold-toned perforation seen across the artist's series. His expression is calm and dignified, conveying the noble, godly bearing befitting the ideal king and hero of the epic. True to his central iconographic attribute, Rama is shown holding his bow, the Kodanda, along with an arrow, poised and ready, a pairing that recurs throughout his depictions as the very emblem of righteous strength held in restraint.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRama's story, from his exile into the forest with Sita and Lakshmana, through the abduction of Sita by Ravana, to the great war fought to rescue her and his eventual coronation, forms the narrative backbone of the Ramayana and, by extension, of much of the Tholu Bommalata tradition's performance repertoire. Revered as maryada purushottama, the ideal man who upholds dharma in every role he inhabits, whether as son, husband, brother or king, Rama's bow, the Kodanda, is itself a celebrated symbol, so closely identified with him that it lends its name to entire schools of devotional and martial reference across South India. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the still centre around which so many of Tholu Bommalata's other figures, demons, allies and fellow avatars, are ultimately organised, this artwork captures Rama with the composure and quiet radiance his role demands. Sindhe Siva's rendering brings together the full expressive range of the tradition, its colour, its ornamentation, its perforated glow, in service of the epic's most central and enduring figure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sindhe Siva","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50044600811734,"sku":null,"price":4000.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1194\/1498\/files\/1._Rama_Avatar_in_Tholu_Bommalata_by_Sindhe_Siva.png?v=1786002441","url":"https:\/\/www.memeraki.com\/products\/rama-avatar-in-tholu-bommalata-by-sindhe-siva","provider":"Memeraki Retail and Tech Pvt Ltd.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}