Suresh Dutta

Suresh Dutta is an Indian puppet artist, theatre personality and the founder of Calcutta Puppet Theatre, a Kolkata-based theatre group dedicated to puppetry.[1] Born in Faridpur, in the undivided Bengal of the British India, he trained art under Phani Bhushan, a Jatra exponent, and Kathakali under Balakrishna Menon.He has also learnt fusion style of danceform from maestro Uday Shankar.[2] He also learnt Bharatanatyam and Manipuri before moving to Russia, under a scholarship in 1962, to train in puppetry under the Russian puppeteer, Sergey Obraztsov.[2]

Returning to India in 1963, he joined the Children's Little Theatre, under the behest of Balakrishna Menon, as the assistant dance director, where he also designed costumes and sets. A decade later, he founded his own puppet theatre group, Calcutta Puppet Theatre, along with his wife, Devi, and a few like-minded artists.[3] The group staged several shows, beginning with the Alladin, followed by Ramayana, Sita, Gulabo aar Sitabo and Notun Jeebon, totaling over 3,000 shows.[4] He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987.[5] The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for his contributions to puppetry.[6]