Dadi Pudumjee, born 1951, trained under legendary puppetry artist Meher Contractor, was a guest student at Marionette Theatre Institute in Stockholm under Michael Meschke, where he also participated in workshops run by Minosuke Yoshida of the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka, Japan.

Dadi Pudumjee is founder of the cross-cultural company, The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust (New Delhi), where he works as director, designer and puppeteer, collaborating with puppeteers, actors and dancers, both traditional and modern. His work spans multiple cultural traditions – from India and beyond, especially countries of the East.

He has received several prestigious awards in India for his work and contribution to puppet theatre, notably the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and the Padmashree in 2011, the latter presented by the President of India for Dadi Pudumjee’s contribution to puppetry.

Dadi Pudumjee is affiliated to UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette) the World Puppet Organisation since the many decades. He is a former President of UNIMA India and UNIMA International’s Asia-Pacific Commission, a Vice-President of UNIMA International (1992-2004) and is President of UNIMA International since 2008. He was also the President of UNIMA International’s Social Justice Commission, and is presently the President Emeritus of UNIMA.