TYEB MEHTA Bearing Weight FEATURED EVENTS

Inspired by TYEB MEHTA’s reflections on Partition and the recurring themes in his artistic practice, this interdisciplinary performance explores memory, violence, fragmentation, and repair through puppetry, masks, objects, and live performance. Moving between metaphor and lived history, it examines how memories endure, break apart, and are reassembled over time.

Drawing from recurring motifs in TYEB MEHTA’s work, including the diagonal, Mahishasura, the trussed bull, and Kali, the performance reflects on the lasting impact of historical trauma and the possibility of renewal. Inspired by the philosophy of Kintsugi, where broken objects are repaired rather than concealed, it considers how fractures become part of a new whole.

The performance unfolds across three interconnected vignettes. Puppets, masks, performers, and objects transform the space into a landscape shaped by memory and rupture, while figures inspired by TYEB MEHTA’s imagery emerge and dissolve through the narrative. Fragments scattered across the stage are gradually gathered and reassembled, culminating in a reflection on rebuilding and collective remembrance.

The performance concludes with a guided walkthrough of TYEB MEHTA Bearing Weight (with the lightness of being), inviting audiences to revisit the exhibition through the ideas explored in the performance.

Ideal for audiences interested in puppetry, theatre, performance art, storytelling, visual culture, and contemporary interpretations of TYEB MEHTA’s work.

About the Artist

Anurupa Roy is a puppeteer, puppet designer, theatre director, and Co-Founder and Managing Trustee of Katkatha Puppet Arts Trust. Trained in India, Sweden, and Italy, she has been at the forefront of contemporary puppetry in India for over two decades. Her work spans performance, education, peacebuilding, and public engagement, and she has directed more than forty productions presented nationally and internationally. She is the recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar, the National Award in Puppet Theatre (2006), and a 2023 British Council Clore Chevening Fellow. Roy also leads initiatives dedicated to training emerging puppeteers and expanding discourse around puppetry in India.

While you’re here, explore KNMA’s ongoing exhibition
TYEB MEHTA Bearing Weight (with the lightness of being).