Daily Bangla Times:   Puppet dances are no longer seen on the bazaar or open-air stage. Where colorful bahari puppets were arranged and strings were tied to them, along with handcrafts, music, songs, dances and performances were used to show 'Ek Phul Dui Mali', 'Kashem Malar Prem', Behula Sundari, Boat Baich, Sagarvasa etc.

Visitors used to buy tickets for 10 to 20 taka to watch this turn of puppet dance. That scene is no longer visible. In a word, the traditional puppet dance, once one of the forms of entertainment in rural Bengal, is disappearing with time. Even though puppet dances are seen in some big fairs, the administration does not seem to allow these because of the allegations of dishonest people performing obscene dances under the cover of this dance.

The owners and artistes of at least five puppet dance troupes, including the legendary The Tisha puppet dance, The Village-Bangla puppet dance, The Three-Star Opera, Manful puppet dance, The Alpana puppet dance, of Barisal's Agailjhara in Barisal, are spending their days in financial trouble. Now due to lack of money they are living an inhumane life.

Manik Biswas, an artist associated with the puppet dance team, said that once he used to spend his time busy with puppet dance events. But many have changed professions and are running their families on daily wages due to not having puppet dance classes for 10 to 15 years.

An artist named Sajal Bala said in Sudin's Smriti Hatare, the ticket for puppet dance was sold at a maximum of two and a half lakh rupees in one night at the Kadambari Mela of Agailjhara Upazila. The puppet dance pandal had seating for 3000 spectators.

Another artist named Poppy Bhakuk said that then 20-25 people worked in each puppet dance group. Three puppet dance shows were performed every night. Excluding all the expenses, Jayant Biswas, the former manager of the Gram-Bangla Puppet Dance Team, said that the situation was so prosperous that the owners of various puppet dance teams used to rent puppets and equipment from different parts of the country and run puppet dance teams under their own names. .

Nani Sarkar, the owner of Agailjhara's traditional puppet dance troupe The Tisha puppet dance, said, "My puppet dance troupe had 25 people including artists. I used to pay each of them 5/7 hundred and 1000 taka per day. Earlier, daily income of 20-25 thousand rupees was earned by showing puppet dance shows in different places. However, the government has stopped this puppet dance due to some unscrupulous people performing obscene dances in the name of puppet dance. Now no one calls them for puppet dances. Because of this, about 5 lakh rupees worth of puppets and various types of puppets including dance equipment are being wasted at home.

He said, in 2011, the license of my puppet dance troupe expired. Then when going to renew the license through a third person at the office of the District Commissioner of Barisal, it was informed that it would not be renewed. And now, as the puppet dance is stopped, many people have left this profession and engaged in other professions. Some have left the illusion of the world again. So this Abhaman demanded from the government for the permission to perform the legendary puppet dance of village-Bengali.

Swapan Das, founder and director of Agailjhara Green Theater and 'Band Matrubhumi', said that various aspects of the folk culture of our contemporary village-Bangla were brought out through puppet dance. At one time puppet dance was known as one of the means of entertainment for the people of Gramganj. However, since the puppet dance show has stopped for a long time, its familiarity among the new generation has decreased.

However, some unscrupulous people used to endanger the youth society by performing obscene dances in the name of puppet dance in the hope of extra profit. That may be the reason why the government is not allowing puppet dance performances. However, the government should provide proper supervision as well as present its true history to the new generation by showing puppet dance in various public and private cultural events.

Agailjhara Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Md. Sakhawat Hossain said, I am not well aware of the permission to show puppet dance. If someone comes to me for license renewal, I will ask them to contact the office of the Deputy Commissioner.