Dubai mall hosts puppets from across the world

Puppet land, hosted by Reef Mall, is showcasing puppets from across the world along with workshops, shows and puppet markets.

"At first, the basic idea of this event was to run an activity that would keep the children occupied as their parents shopped around the mall. But as we progressed into the theme, it just grew manifold," said Soniya Suri, director of operations for Skilmore events.

"The Wonder of Puppets now has theatre shows in three different languages; plus there are games, stories, puppet workshops, and a puppet market to keep the little visitors smiling with joy," she added.

The Dubai-based company is running the puppet workshops and supervising the other mall activities for the Wonder of Puppets.

"Puppets from 20 countries have been invited to participate in this event. Most of them have come from The Lahore Museum of Puppetry, which is based in Pakistan. They have been skilfully displayed in dust resistant boxes to avoid any damage to the pieces," Suri said.

The Lahore Museum of Puppetry is the first international puppetry museum, with puppets, posters, paintings, photographs, video films and other materials on display, according to Suri.

Here in Dubai, Puppet Land has been a resounding success with the children.

"I like to visit Dubai and wish I could live here because there are always interesting things happening here. I was here for last DSS also but there was no puppet show like this. By seeing the puppets from different parts of the world I am better able to understand the style of clothing, the musical instruments and the culture of that place," said Raniya Abdullah, an Egyptian visitor.