Discover Wooden Artist: Discovered centuries-old wood art travelled from Persia to Southern India

We heard quite a bit about a place called Channapatna near Bangalore from our friends and hence decided to visit the place last week. We got introduced to a local artisan there through a friend, who shared a lot of information about the centuries-old art form of toy making.

The artisans make the wooden toys using traditional tools as well as modern machinery. These toys are non-hazardous in comparison with the cheap plastic toys that are available in the market these days. Imported toys such as Barbie, Lego and other dolls are preferred today in our country and hence the popularity of these toys has started to fade away. Ironically, tourists and foreigners value these toys more than their own.

Origin of Chennapatna Toy :

The concept of toy making was introduced in our country during Tipu Sultan rule . He had friends all around the world, especially in Persia, Iran, from where he invited artisans to teach the art of wooden toy making to the locals.

Kids were drawn to these toys because of their diverse colors and shapes. As the demand increased, the artisans began manufacturing these toys all year round and passed on their knowledge to the next generation as well. The toys from Channapatna are carved out of ivory wood, making them perfectly shaped, and hence, unique. Thus, as years passed, Channapatna became the hub of toy making.

Manufacturing of Channapatna products :

Ivory wood, being available in abundance in this region, and possessing medicinal properties, was mainly used in toy making, while other wood types such as teak, rosewood, pine and sandal are seldom used. The products are made after seasoning the wood and painted only using vegetable dyes.

The decline of the toys:

The entry of character-based plastic toys from the western nations resulted in a steep decline of wooden toy sales. This forced the artisans to look for other opportunities to earn their living, reducing the number of artisans from 50000 to 6000 within a span of three decades.

Rebirth of Channapatna Art like pheonix :

With the ever-growing awareness of environment safety and plastic hazards, the western countries have started banning products and toys made out of toxic materials from south Asia. Sensing the change in demand, certain companies and NGOs started the export of these organic wooden toys from Channapatna. But the impact of this change in the lives of the artisans is still unknown.

During Obama’s visit India, he was presented with the Channapatna toys, thus creating huge brand awareness for these toys. The fact that these toys are currently decorating the White House has increased its sales by almost 25% in the last six months.

Hope this rebirth and sales growth of Channapatna toys helps both the producers & consumers and have a positive impact in their lives.