DUSHANBE, March 29, 2012, Asia-Plus — The 3rd International Puppet Theatre Festival, dubbed Chodari Khayol, will take place in Dushanbe from April 11 to April.
Mr. Kenja Ibrohimov, the director of the Dushanbe Puppet Theatre, Lukhtak, says the event is organized by the Ministry of Culture under support of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan and the Tajik Branch of the Open Society Institute/Assistance Foundation (OSI/AF-Tajikistan) and puppeteers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan will arrive in Tajikistan Russia to participate in the Festival.
Tajikistan will be represented by two puppet theaters: Lukhtak from Dushanbe and Chkalovsk’s Puppet Theater.
The Chodari Khayol Festival is held in Tajikistan for the third time; the first festival took place in 2007 and the second one was held in 2010.
The Festival is an important event in cultural life of modern Tajikistan, and contributes to strengthening creative and friendly ties between different peoples and countries.
It is worthwhile noting that puppet art of Persian people enjoys a thousand-year old history and has preserved its beauty to our time. Historical sources say that Sogdian and Bactrian people in particular were engaged in puppet art even during the prehistoric period, and this traditional theatrical art was called “chodarkhayol” (puppet art). Moreover, its elements may be observed in the puppet art of Central Asian region, even in China, Japan, Turkey and India nowadays.
The Festival is undoubtedly a logical continuation of those undertakings. The Festival’s principal mission is to strengthen cultural interrelations, and give a better insight into the culture and traditions of Tajik people thereby creating grounds for further development of the puppet art in Tajikistan. It is expected that the Festival will promote cultural, intellectual and esthetic upbringing of the younger generation.
