Gopalila is traditional glove puppet show of
Orissa. ‘Gopa’ refers to the cowherd boys who were the childhood friends of
Lord Krishna, while ‘lila’ means play. The scenes in Gopalila revolve around the childhood antics of Lord Krishna and his friends.
The puppets are made from wood and paper. They contain only the upper part of the puppets, while the part from the waist down consists of a long skirt. The upper body is padded with cloth. A small box-like structure serves as the stage. The background is provided by colorful curtains. The show involves 2 puppeteers, who also provide the background music, narration and songs.
The art of Gopalila is mainly concentrated in Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam and Dhenkanal districts.
