Being an ancient temple art, Tholpavakoothu (shadow puppetry) is performed in the Bhadrakali temples of Kerala’s Palakkad and its neighbouring districts. Once a vibrant form of art, its popularity dwindled after the introduction of cinema and television. As a ritual, it is today performed in the temples during the festival season (January to June) every year. Poor remuneration and lack of support brought in a stumbling block and many puppeteers left the traditional job. However, the scions, who claim that they belong to the 13th generation in the family of puppeteers in Palakkad, still swim against the flow with the ancient leather puppets that they inherited from their forefathers, to preserve the art form.