Around 200 BC, during the reign of the Satavahana dynasty, a craft was born in India that would survive empires, colonial rule, and the age of electricity.

It was called Tholu Bommalata  leather puppetry. Translating literally as "the dance of leather dolls," it was a form of shadow theatre performed through the night for kings, villagers, and devotees alike. The puppets  cut from goat leather, hand-painted with vegetable dyes, held up to firelight told the stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata to audiences who had no other entertainment.

King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire loved it so much he personally patronised the craft. A Telugu manuscript was composed specifically to accompany these performances. The artisans who performed were celebrated, travelled across kingdoms, and their craft was considered a gift to be protected by rulers.

Today, in a remote village called Nimmalakunta in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, the descendants of those same artisans still practice this craft. The current master craftsman Shri Chithambara Rao is the 10th generation practitioner. His ancestors came from Maharashtra 400 years ago  and never stopped.

The shadow theatre has quieted. But the craft has found a new life.

These lamps hand-cut from genuine goat leather, hand-painted by women artisans of Nimmalakunta, pierced with tiny holes using a traditional chisel called a pogaru  are the direct descendants of those royal puppets. When you switch one on, the same goat leather that once told stories to kings now tells them through light, colour and shadow in your home.

Goat leather. Vegetable dyes. 2000 years of craft. Made this week by women in a village in Andhra Pradesh. ₹1,150.

Only a handful of families in Nimmalakunta still make these. Each lamp is unique. No two designs are identical. When this stock is gone  there is no overnight restock. These are made one at a time, by hand, in a village.

Dispatch in 1 to 2 working days. Delivered in 3 to 7 days across India. Damaged in transit  we replace it. Your purchase is fully protected.