Doll making loses colour and sheen
Tamil Nadu’s clay dolls are in demand globally, but shrinking margins may make it increasingly unattractive for the next generation of doll makers.
By : migrator
Update: 2020-02-03 22:13 GMT
Chennai
Although the clay dolls of Tamil Nadu have always occupied the pride of place, being sought after locally and overseas, doll manufacturers say the last few years have seen a dip in sales.
Traditional doll making families are trying to ensure that at least one family member stays with the art, as Gen Next looks at more lucrative career options.
During the Navarathri kolu festival, people pull out all stops to display their unique collection of dolls put together over many years and generations.
Thanjavur, Villupuram, Panruti, Kumbakonam and Cuddalore are all sought after for their dolls, but Vilachery (Madurai) and Kosapettai (Chennai) are more popular, for their quality, creativity and large scale production. The more recent trend of making huge Vinayaka dolls has also caught on in Tamil Nadu.
Thanjavur is well known for its laughing Buddha and dancing dolls. These dancing dolls are sold as souvenirs and there are around 20 families who are involved in this art.
Each family makes around 2,000 dolls a month. These dolls in full motley are a major tourist attraction.
It was a roaring business in the last decade but over the last few years, sales have dipped by 10 per cent and over 20 per cent of the manufacturers have quit the business.
With the declining trend, these doll makers find it difficult to sustain the interest and attract the next generation into this profession. “My son is a civil engineer and he finds it (doll making) a waste of time and energy.
My total capital for establishing this unit is one crore but what I get in return is nothing worth mentioning. He is of the view that I would have earned more had I invested the money in bank,” says M Alagarsamy, master craftsman, who owns a doll making unit in Vilachery.
The monthly income varies depending upon the season and the demand. Typically, during the season each unit makes about 3 to 4 lakh dolls.
Earlier, buying dolls was seasonal and sales heavily depended on Navarathri but now it has become a year long business and peaks during the season. Sales are highest during Navarathri and Vinayaka Chaturthi, with over 10 lakh dolls being sold.
During Navarathri, each company easily makes a business of Rs 10 lakh or more. In Kosapettai, every family wishes to have at least one member of the family actively involved in this business.
Unless the State protects these creators and the next generation turns its attention towards developing this art form, doll making will see no growth in coming years.
From gods and saints to popular festivals and ceremonies these replicas in miniature are in demand. There are around 80 families involved in this business in Kosapettai. At first, they create different moulds.
They use different materials including clay, sand and alluvial soil in right proportions to make these dolls. They are then coloured before being sold in the market.
“We get the clay for the dolls while desilting tanks and ponds during summer after getting due permission from the authorities. Now we are not allowed to take clay from the beds and we have to look for other sources,” says Reuban, doll maker in Kosapettai.
According to V Gurumoorthy, president, Kosapettai Kullalar Sangam, the Kosapettai doll makers record a business of Rs 3 crore per annum. The doll makers of Vilachery, source clay from Manamadurai, when they don’t get enough raw material in their village.
“Most of our clay requirement is fulfilled with the available resources in the village. Only when we require more for our bulk orders, we take clay from other places. Clay from Kolkata is the best,” says Muthumari, doll maker in Vilachery.
Earning more than Rs 10 crore a year, doll making is a cottage industry here. “We migrated to Vilachery from the neighbouring Panaiyurvillage half a century ago, in pursuit of greener pastures and this place did not disappoint us,” says Alagarsamy. The region has abundant soil
suitable for doll making.
“My father Muthu Irulan used to make terracotta horse figurines for the ‘Puravi Eduppu’ festival (festival of local village deities).
Gradually, when people showed keen interest in buying Ganesha idols for Vinayaka Chathurthi festival, people started making dolls and from then on, it developed into making dolls for kolu,” he says.
There are around 30 such units but only 10 master craftsmen. The need for qualified craftsman is on the rise every year.
There are more than 250 labourers and 100 families involved in this business. Each unit employs nearly 10 to 50 doll makers, a majority of them being women as the men look for lucrative employment elsewhere.
During off season they look for other employment. “We find it difficult to raise loans from banks. Against my investment of Rs one crore, I might be able to raise Rs 10 lakh,” says Alagarsamy.
There are varieties of doll sets including Dasavatharam, Ramar Pattabhishekam, Soorasamharam, Hanuman at the Ravan Darbar, Kumbakarnan, Maya Bazaar and dolls for all Hindu ceremonies.
"This year the Athivarathar doll sold like hot cakes," says Alagarsamy. With more than 35 years in this field, Alagarsamy has more than 10,000 moulds in his possession. “We have different sets of moulds. Every season I used to make 10 to 15 moulds easily,” he says.
“Every year, visitors from foreign countries come to our village to see the doll making. The State Tourism Department can declare Vilachery as ‘art and craft village’ and bring people here.
The government should also extend a helping hand through schemes and help us develop this art form,” says Alagarsamy. In Cuddalore, Vandipalayam and Manavalli places, there are more than 300 people involved in the art of making kolu dolls.
Their dolls depicting Ramayana stories. Alwars and Nayanmars are also very popular. Earlier getting clay for making these dolls was easy as it was abundantly available for free, but now after the ban on taking clay from river and tank beds, these artisans find it difficult to get quality clay.
Also, quality clay is sold for a premium price and that is also the reason for the rise of price in these dolls.
Support to the doll makers
- State government unit Poompuhar procures dolls from artisans. It markets these dolls through its direct sales counters during festival season such as Karthigai, Pongal and Navarathri
- The dolls are also marketed through Poompuhar websites, which give names and addresses of the artisans
- State government issues identity cards for the artisans. Bank loan up to Rs one lakh can be availed of with the card. The artisans can also claim Rs 5,000 as compensation during the rainy season
- Vilachery dolls are exported to US, Germany, Gulf countries, Malaysia and Singapore
- Kosapettai dolls are exported to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia
- When business is dull in TN, these doll makers through agents go to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for work
- The doll makers can register with organisations like Southern Handicrafts Industry Association and enjoy medical benefit of up to Rs 15,000 for the family under Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana
- Central and state government award holders are eligible for Rs 1,000 per month as pension after the age of 60
- Kosapettai doll makers are now striving for GI tag for their creations
Dolls in other parts of the country
The art of making dolls and toys dates back to 5,000 years from the Indus Valley Civilization. The perfect modelling of human and animal figures at Mohenjodaro and Harappa is testimony to the technical skills of craftsmen. Assam and West Bengal fashion toys out of pith. The theme of "mother and child" model is popular in the eastern terracotta belt. Varanasi, Lucknow, Mathura and Vrindavan are reputed for their brightly painted wooden dolls and toys while Tirupati for its dampati (man-woman) dolls. Rajasthan makes dolls of unbaked clay. In Madhubani, dolls are made of sikki, a grass. Kondapalli in Andhra Pradesh makes some of the traditional dolls and toys out of a mixture of cowdung, sawdust and clay and covers them with lustrous pigments. Goa has figurines of earthen ware with a velvety finish. Saurashtra has a clay called ‘Gopichand’ because it resembles chandan (sandalwood).
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