Jolputul – an experimental puppet theatre is a team of few young spirits trying to practice the fading culture of puppetry in Bangladesh. In its shows, fairy tales, folklores and traditional stories featuring scripts, costumes, music, and sets designed by talented puppeteers creates a wonderful attraction for the children.
Saiful Islam Jarnal is the founder of Jolputul, he is also the percussionist of the band Joler Gaan, and a member of the leading theatre troupe Prachyanat. Jolputul started its journey in 2005 with an informal puppetry show in the capital. In a conversation with Dhaka Tribune, Jarnal, said:
“We entitled our team as Jolputul (Jol means water in Bangla). Water is simple and has different forms. We tell simple stories in the plays by using puppets in creative drama to develop an understanding of vocabulary. On the other hand, our band Joler Gaan, production house Joloj Movie all these stands for Jol.”
“The experiment includes contemporary events, making puppets from waste materials, workshops, interacting with the audience at the show, and the overall appearance. All are performances are educational, entertaining and full of fun. All our stories are generally based on folklores, existing social problems and our current thoughts. We emphasize our expertise in story telling by interacting with our audience – kids. Jolputul is more concerned with making puppetry easy and entertaining for kids through our workshops and shows.”
The current team members are, among others, Saiful Islam Jarnal, Al-Amin Khandaker, Raihan Ahmed Rafi, Rifat Ahmed Nobel, Jesmin Jahan Jhuma, Mohammad Rafiq, Azmain Azad Katha, ABS Xem, Prajna Tasnuva Rubayyat, and Mithun. Debashish Talukdar has written the script for the show.
In the music video of “Patar gaan” – a Joler Gaan track from the album Otol Joler Gaan, puppets were seen playing musical instruments.
