The shadow theatre and puppet theatre of all varieties-rod, glove, marionette-are active in India. What it may lack in refinement and sophistication, it gains in variety and vitality when compared to the contemporary traditions of shadow theatre of the Wayang kulit, or the Nang Sbek, or Nang Yai of Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia or Thailand.
The wooden rod puppets of the Wayang Golek type and marionettes of the Burmese type are found in different parts of India.
In Orissa the shadow theatre is known as Ravana Chaya, literally meaning shadow of Ravana. The counterpart of the ballad singer of the Dasakathia or the 'dalang' of the Indonesian Wayang Kulit, is the reciter-manipulator of the Ravana Chaya.
The text used is the Oriya Vcitra Ramayana, as in the Dasakathia.
The Tholu Bomalattam, meaning leather puppet-dance, is a visual representation through large coloured puppets of the Burrakatha of Andhra Pradesh.
The text of the plays is drawn from the Telugu Ramayana version. The form of the puppets resembles the medieval murals of the Vijayanagara period: the shadows are gigantic and compare favourably with the Nang Sbek.
The Karnataka shadow theatre (called literally, leather puppet-dance) is another visual representation of the Kannada Ramayana. The shadow theatre of Karanataka revolving around the Rama theme, is closely related to Rama play presented as wooden puppets.
The wooden puppets resemble the Yaksagana, and the marionette theatre is indeed only another aspect of the live theatre in all the regions.
Which text is used in Ravana Chaya?
Correct Answer: B. Telugu Ramayana
Solution:The text used in Ravana Chaya is the Oriya Vicitra Ramayana, as mentioned in the passage. This text is integral to the performance, similar to how specific texts are used in other forms of shadow theatre and puppet theatre in different regions.