Folk Humour in Tholubommalata of Andhra Pradesh

The paper examines the grammar of folk humour using the shadow puppetry performances of Tholubommalata of Andhra Pradesh. To achieve the purpose, the paper discusses the comic interludes which are presented in the intervals of the Ramayana performances of Tholubommalata. Humour, in Indian theatre, is a well-established concept both in Sanskrit drama and in the various classical dance forms. Drawing on these definitions from the Natya Shastra, the present study examines the similarities and differences between folk humour and the classical humour. Mikhail Bakhtin’s widely known study of Rabelais’ works, in his book Rabelais and His World, is an exemplary commentary on folk humour and its history in the European context. In a curious twist of tales, Bakhtin attributes the origin of the grotesque form in Europe to a book titled the Book of Indian Wonders. Therefore, it would be interesting to view the comic characters of puppet theatre through the Bakhtinian lens.