Chennapatna, located on the Bengaluru-Mysore National Highway in Ramnagar district, is famous for the manufacture of wooden dolls. Many people are involved in making these toys. Tourists to Mysore regularly buy these souvenirs. Its intricate artwork is set to challenge Chinese dolls. Eco-friendly paint, unique design are the highlights of these dolls.Chennapatna dolls are famous for their unique and specific patterns.
Hence, this city of Chennapatna is known as ‘City of Dolls’. Traditionally, dolls are made from ivory wood and ebony wood. They are beautified by applying natural dyes extracted from plants. It has been made from trees for over 200 years. Besides, rubber, sycamore, pine, teak and other woods are also used. The production of these toys was started during the reign of Tipu Sultan. Artisans were brought in from Persia to make wooden dolls and train local artisans. ‘Bawas Miyan’ is considered as the ‘Father of Chennapatna Dolls’. These dolls are painted with natural dyes and do not harm children. But Chinese toys with a chemical coating called ‘lead’ are harmful to children when they put them in their mouths. As a result, some countries have banned Chinese toys. Because of this, Chennapatna toys have gained popularity all over the world.
More than 10,000 people are involved in the production of more than 300 houses and 50 small factories in Chennapatna. The Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation (KHDC) is helping to market these dolls. The dolls, which are so popular, have been declining for 10 years due to various reasons such as logging and lack of funds. The toy manufacturing workers have been forced to go to other industries. Regarding this, the workers said, ‘Export tax, VAT, GST, taxes on toys should be cancelled. The government should directly help to export more to foreign countries. The amount of assistance given to artistes should be increased,’ they say.
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