And now for something completely different : Javanese shadow puppet theater.
I have not had the opportunity to see Javanese shadow puppets or watch Javanese shadow puppet theater performances except on video, but these shadow puppet theater shows are in many ways similar to shadow puppet theaters in India and Thailand and are, I am told, quite popular in Java. While in Thailand, I saw shadow puppets on sale in many shops. I would have bought one too for our home here in California except that they were a bit too big to fit in our travel bags. Also, I am afraid of monsters.
Times of India readers would be pleased to know that the themes of shadow puppet shows are often of Indian origin. Shadow puppet shows in Thailand often have stories that are made up by the puppeteers from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Ramayana. Shadow puppet shows in Java too have stories based in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. And so to round off this post, a shadow puppet theater show from the motherland.