“Celebrating Puppetry as Cultural Expression and Communication” organized by the SAARC Cultural Centre was successfully concluded on 17th July 2025. The inauguration ceremony was graced by the esteemed presence of Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Prof. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi on 15th July 2025, who officially declared the festival open at De Centrum Hall, Fairway Hotel Colombo. Honourable Minister emphasized the profound significance of puppetry as an art form that transcends linguistic and cultural barriers, fostering regional unity and understanding.
This program aims to highlight puppetry not only as a captivating performance art but also as a powerful medium for social awareness and cultural exchange. Through a blend of traditional and contemporary narratives, the festival seeks to preserve intangible cultural heritage and promote creativity within the region. Further, this provides an opportunity to learn the unique cultural identity of different South Asian communities. A three-day festival was organized in three culturally significant locations from 15th to 17th July 2025, namely Fairway Colombo Hotel, Hospital Street in Colombo, the Sri Palee Campus of the University of Colombo in Horana, and Ambalangoda historical puppeteers’ village in Sri Lanka.
This unique event brought together puppeteers from across South Asia to celebrate, revive, and promote puppetry as an integral part of the region’s intangible cultural heritage and promoting regional unity through cultural integration and intercultural dialogue and fostering and strengthening cultural ties among the peoples of the SAARC region.
The festival featured renowned puppetry groups from the Puppet Theatre Research and Development Centre of Bangladesh (PTRDCB) at Jahangirnagar University (Bangladesh), Dolls Theatre, Kolkata (India), and Lucksiri Puppet Artists and the Puppet Museum Ambalangoda (Sri Lanka). Their performances highlighted both the shared cultural threads and distinct regional styles that define South Asia’s puppetry traditions. The SAARC Cultural Centre organized free public shows gathering thousands of a nationals and internationals who are enthusiasts to experience the enduring charm of South Asian puppetry live on stage. The SCC expresses heartfelt thanks to Fairway Colombo, the official hospitality partner of this colorful celebration of the heritage of South Asia.
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