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Pulling the right strings:
Aparna and Ramdas Padhye
The original puppet people, Ramdas Padhye and his wife, Aparna have been an inseparable team, both within and outside marriage, for more than two decades.
Ramdas and Aparna Padhye make a truly unique couple. For the past two decades, they have been propagating the art of ventriloquism and puppetry. In fact, together their name is synonymous with this fast-fading art. Together they have performed more than a thousand shows in India and abroad. Their puppets have performed to contemporary music such as Falguni Pathak's Maine Payal Hai Chankai, featured in a movie, Dil Hai Tumhara and in ads like the famous Lijjat Pappad one with the bunny puppet. This amazing couple is currently touring eight cities across the United States at the behest of a charity organisation to raise funds for developmental projects for the poor and underprivileged in India.
Shaadi Times caught up with couple just days before their departure.
Mirror, mirror on the wall!
Flashback to the late '70s when the Padhye's first came face-to-face. "The first time I saw him was on the television way back in 1972," says Ramdas Padhye's better half, Aparna. "He was already an established puppeteer and ventriloquist and though I'd been an admirer of his talent, I met him personally, much later, in 1979. I was learning music from Yashwant Deo, my Guru, at that time. It was Deo Sir's wife who asked me if I was interested in Ramdas. To which I immediately acquiesced as my mind was set on marrying this man with a unique profession." Ramdas takes off: "She came to see one of my plays at Shivaji Mandir (a popular Marathi theatre in Mumbai). I remember seeing her through one of the mirrors in the green room. One look at her and my mind was made up. You may call it - love at first sight!"
Love blossoms
A courtship of eight months ensued during which love blossomed and mutual attraction developed. "What attracted me towards him, as a person, was the fact that despite being an internationally-acclaimed ventriloquist he was a simple, straightforward and open-minded person. A hard-working, studious and methodical man completely in love with his art," says Aparna. Ramdas was drawn by their common interests in performing arts. "We both are passionate about theatre and music; in fact we love all kinds of performing arts. Besides, Aparna came across as a very calm and composed person who could keep her cool in the most stressful situations, unlike me."
Ardhavat Rao at the wedding
The couple finally tied the knot on 2nd February, 1980. "It was a 'register' marriage," reveals Ramdas, "as we both wanted the affair to be simple and devoid of any traditional rituals. The reception party was an elaborate event though. I had decorated the entire reception hall with cut-outs of my puppets. The invitation card had one of my favourite puppet characters, Ardhavat Rao on the cover, inviting guests for the party."
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| Mutual understanding between each other is essential. You shouldn't hide anything - good or bad - from your wife. |
| - Ramdas Padhye |
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To err is human... to own up, divine!
The Padhye pair reveals their mantra for a successful marriage and relationship.
"To err is human, but being transparent is essential. People say that a husband and wife shouldn't work together. In our case, working together has brought us closer," says Ramdas. Aparna adds: "There are many ups and downs in one's life. You have to be there for each other, no matter what."
Dream team
As professional partners, Ramdas and Aparna Padhye have brought joy to toddlers and grown-ups alike, for the last 24 years. How has the experience been? "I love working with him," beams Aparna, "we have developed a wonderful working relationship. I guess it's the art that has brought us closer. I get to use my creativity to the fullest through puppetry as it imbibes all the known performing art forms. We both have our individual aspirations, but we never let that get in the way of our marriage and family life." Ramdas tends to agree with this. "We have been working together for a long time and I'm sure it has brought us closer. We have developed a great sense of team-work and partnership."
Full of original ideas
"As an artiste, Ramdas is very hard-working. Here is a man who is always trying to think up innovative, original and fresh ideas. He is meticulous in his preparation and gives more than one hundred percent for each and every show. As a husband, he is very straight-forward and open-minded. He has a strong value system, which makes him very disciplined and principled. The only complaint I have against him is that he doesn't help me with household chores."
Balances work and home
"Unlike me, Aparna is a complete extrovert. She loves to make friends and mingle with people. She is extremely gifted as an artiste and forms an integral part of the team. She has learned to balance work and household duties very well. In fact, she is the force that binds our joint family together. On the downside, Aparna has the habit of keeping her feelings to herself instead of sharing them with others," Ramdas says.
Backstage friends
Both Ramdas and Aparna stress the importance of friendship in marriage. "Friendship is the basis of any marriage," they echo in complete harmony. "Friendship teaches you to respect each other as human beings and helps facilitate the communication process between couples. On the stage, we are two different people with our own individual roles to play. Backstage, we're just great friends," they maintain.
Engineer ventriloquist
Ramdas is a trained mechanical engineer from one of India's reputed educational institutions, Mumbai's V.J.T.I. and despite such a heavy-duty technical qualification, he chose an offbeat career. Why? Explains Aparna: "Everyone goes through financial problems and we have had our fair share of them. But it has never stopped us from doing what we love. Financially, we never had any major problems. Ramdas branched into several media from time to time, including stage shows, commercials, television shows and films; which is why getting work was never a problem." Ramdas concurs: "We have had bad times. But at the end of the day, when you are doing what you love, wealth does not matter much."
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Aseem Hattangady
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