Channapatna Toys

In News

Recently, the Prime Minister of India has inaugurated the India Toy Fair 2021 in New Delhi, where he stressed the need for innovation and novelty in toys.

• He called upon Channapatna (Karnataka) toymakers to explore the possibility of e-marketing their traditional wears across the country and the world.

About Channapatna and its Toys

• Channapatna town is in the Ramanagara District in Karnataka and is popularly known as ‘Gombegala Nagara’ (City of Toys) or the ‘Toy Land of Karnataka’.
• It is famous for its exquisite toys made by the small-scale industries in the town where as many as 2,000 artisans are involved with around 80 per cent of the workforce of men and 20 per cent of women.
• History
  • These toys have a history of over two centuries.
  • Tipu Sultan (1750-1799) encouraged the Persians to come down to India to teach the artisans the art of making wooden toys.
  • The Father of Channapatna toy is Bavas Miyan, who is known for his commitment to life to help the local artisans with the art of toy-making and bringing in new technologies to improvise the toys.
• Features
  • The toys are made with soft ivory wood and given a polished look, adding colours and other beautifications.
  • The wood used is the Doodhi Wood (Milkwood) which is precisely white in colour and easy to carve out.
  • The woodwork is coloured using vegetable dyes and is free of chemicals.
  • For the glazing of the toys, the polishing is done with high abrasive property grass. Hence, the toys are completely environment-friendly.
• Types
  • These do not just consist of some dolls and horses, but also have mathematical games and puzzles, showpieces like vintage cars, beads like curtains, pen stands, snails, candle stands, etc and movable kinds like rocking horses, trains engines, motorcycles, etc.
• Concern
  • The plastic toys especially dominated by the Chinese manufactured ones, led to the downfall of these intriguing toys in the market.
• Suggestions
  • Artisans should use advanced technology to popularise these toys across the world.
  • They should also use the Information Technology (IT) workforce available in Bengaluru for the purpose.

(Image Courtesy: Outlook India)

Source: TH