The Mind Creative JULY 2014 | Page 28

The Mind Creative March 2014 “The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others.” – Grayson Kirk Most of us, at some point in our lives have seen, have been confronted with or have played with a puppet; at times without even knowing what a puppet really is. Hence it is important to first establish the definition of “a puppet”. Through centuries people have been telling their stories with puppets; rituals, epics, satires have all been part of puppet plays. Puppets in every form (marionettes, rod, glove and shadow) have played an important part in our collective histories, at times going beyond just entertainment into areas like education, transmitting values, ideas and knowledge in a non-formal environment where the student hardly realises that he or she is being tutored. 28