With an elongated face, this style is used as a foundation for creating different postures and designs for various other terracotta dolls. The figurine of the ‘Hatima putul’, a symbol of cultural significance, depicts a mother with elephant-like ears holding a child in her arms or her lap. Clay, sand, straw and ‘kabish’, prepared from red clay, are some of the basic raw materials that are used to mould these toys. These are primarily inspired by traditional beliefs and aesthetics and reflect on the history of the religious and social customs that are prevalent in the region.

Using traditional tools and equipment like Kodal, Pitna, knives, and Kathi, the artisans of Asharikandi, a village in Assam’s Dhubri district, employ ancient artistic techniques to deftly craft figurines of deities, animals, birds, and also objects from ordinary life. With the strokes of thin, soft brushes, the dolls and figurines are painted in vibrant colours based on water or oil or vegetable dyes. Each part of the set is carved out separately and then joined together with the help of a paste called ‘makku’, and the touches of final polish are added to enhance the details and mould the shape. The themes of these toys are derived from Indian mythology and epics and also depict rural life, animals, and birds the Ambari elephants and the Dasavatharam set are especially significant. The deft artisans claim to be descendants of the blessed sage Muktharishi. Made of soft wood known as Tella Poniki, these Kondapalli toys are created in the ‘Bommala Colony’.

In the village of Kondapalli, Andhra Pradesh, over four centuries ago, the craft of making brilliant and expressive figurines and toy-sets originated. Today, we explore a few of the traditional toys that are especially significant to their places of origin and are unique in their indigenous essence. National social organisations as well as worldwide agencies have stepped forward to extend their help for some cases. With the change in lifestyle and flourish of western influence, however, many of the indigenous industries of India are gradually nearing extinction.

Dasavatharam painting