D. Tirupalu lives in Nimmalagunta near Ananthapur, with a family of 5 members. Tirupalu, after passing class 10, started making beautiful pieces of leather lampshades. Tirupalu’s grandparents had been making puppets of varied sizes, used to convey epics from Hindu mythology and folklore in puppet shows. With time and trends, Tirupalu started making other contemporary leather pieces such as lampshades and wall clocks. With not much demands, Tirupalu finds it hard to make his ends as this is a very low paid profession. He has been working for the last 30 years to keep this traditional art alive, with his family being a constant support for his profession.
