The fascinating origins of Indian toys | #164

Do you remember Jungle Book on Doordarshan? 🥰

Jul 15, 2023

Hello friends

Barbie, the iconic doll that has captured hearts worldwide, is set to take center stage in her very own live-action movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The movie has been marketed widely.

The hype around the movie got us thinking about toys. Especially toys made in India by talented artisans.

This Barbie is writing about Indian toys in this week’s newsletter.

Things we learnt this week 🤓

When we hear the word Terracotta, we associate it with pottery and statues, but not with toys. Asharikandi in Assam is home to a large terracotta industry and specializes in toys. The name Asharikandi comes from 2 words Ashar or Axar, which is the 3rd month in the Assamese calendar and Kandi which means ‘to shed tears’. This indicates monsoon which helps make the soil damp and is then used to make toys. It is said that the craft itself is as old as the Harappan civilization and people from Sindh region are said to have traveled and settled in this part of the world. Truly a mud-ern marvel.

Before being known as the bastion of Kaleen Bhaiya, Mirzapur was known for its wooden toys. The speciality of the toys here is that they are made from Koraiya wood - it is pliable and allows itself to be rendered into many shapes. And they are from a single piece - no nails or joints. But these days, the industry here is seeing a downturn, due to lack of wood as well as a lack of artisans. In the 80s, the felling of the Koraiya wood tree was banned and the artisans had to shift to using Eucalyptus - which is harder and more difficult to use. Despite all the challenges, we hope the artisans of Mirzapur wood’nt give up.

We cannot talk about Indian toy industries and not mention Channapatna toys. It is said that Tipu Sultan once received a wooden craft piece gift from Persia, and fell in love with it. He invited Persians artisans to teach his people on how to make these wooden toys and this has been the livelihood of many artisans in Channapatna. Thanks to the proliferation of cheaper plastic toys, these days many artisans are struggling and have given up the art. The unseen effects of having a super fast highway between Bangalore and Mysore, has seen reduced access to the village of Channapatna reducing their incomes even more. We give the final word to Dr Rajkumar.
Play with it and watch it
No matter what happens, do not bow down to anyone

From IWTK, with love 💌

The upcoming Barbie film is expected to be a satirical commentary on male patriarchy and women’s place in society. The trailer was a spectacular tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001:A Space Odyssey. Watch it here.
author
India Wants To Know on Instagram: “Narrated by Helen Mirren, the recent trailer of Barbie(2023) was a spectacular tribute to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001:A Space Odyssey. The upcoming Barbie film is expected to be a satirical commentary on male patriarchy and women’s place in society, just like how the 68 movie explored man’s place in the universe. #FunFact: Carl Sagan credited Kubrick’s 2001 with “expanding the average person’s awareness of the cosmic perspective” — which was more than he could say a decade later about Star Wars.🤦‍♂️ In fact, the original book 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke was a result of a collaboration between Clarke & Kubrick when the latter suggested a plan to create both a book and a movie script together based on Clarke’s original short story The Sentinel. The movie went on to inspire an entire generation of space exploration films, including Nolan’s Interstellar, which is also an obvious tribute to 2001. We can’t wait to see what Greta Gerwig brings us in Barbie. #barbie #barbiethemovie #stanleykubrick #2001aspaceodyssey #movietrailers #upcomingmovies #margotrobbie #carlsagan #nolan #interstellar”
July 14, 2023
The Jungle Book that aired on Doordarshan is a dubbed version of the anime show Janguru Bukku Shōnen Mōguri. Know more here.
India Wants To Know
India Wants To Know on Instagram: “The Jungle Book that aired on Doordarshan is a dubbed version of the anime show Janguru Bukku Shōnen Mōguri! The Hindi theme was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj, had lyrics by Gulzar, and sung by a young Amol Sahdev! #doordarshan #gulzar #vishalbhardwaj #junglebook #mowgli #indiantv #nostalgia #90s”
July 8, 2023