In Pictures

Kondapalli toys face modernisation and cheap imports

India’s master artisans of an ancient toy-making tradition compete with cheap imports and the lure of modern cities.

The Bullock Cart: Kondapalli toys are paper light, colourful toys depicting scenes from everyday rural life. The bullock cart is a famous piece that may not be seen on the village roads any more, but has been etched in history by these artisans. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

18 Nov 2016

Kondapalli village, Andhra Pradesh, India – For 400 years, artisans in the Kondapalli village in Andhra Pradesh, have been making gleefully magical wooden toys.

The village, with its clay paths and a few brick houses, sits among small hills. A closer look, beyond the open doors, reveals tiny half-painted wooden torsos and limbs spread about inside.

Kondapalli has a heritage of toy making. The ancestors of these artisans, it is believed, migrated from Rajasthan and chose to settle in this region in the 16th century, establishing the art they had brought with them.

The descendants of these master artisans have carried their legacy forward. But, in recent years, the tradition has been threatened by the challenges of modernisation.

The number of artisans is dwindling as competition from imported cheaper Chinese-made toys and a new generation of youngsters that simply are not interested in their heirloom art form threaten their livelihood.

Development and urbanisation are also attracting this generation of toy-makers into the cities. They now aspire to pursue other professions, in medicine, engineering or jobs in the corporate world, rather than carry on the niche tradition of toy-making.

The old couple: With a sideway glance, they make people roll about laughing. This couple retains their Rajasthani touch and with their bright colours and humorous expressions make any one smile on a dull day. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

Characters from Indian mythological stories, deities, a battalion of soldiers and the Ambari elephants are among the items carved out from the Tella Poniki wood by the nimble fingered artisans. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

The Kondapalli papier-mache dolls are made of a paste of tamarind seeds and the soft wood powder. They are made using the potter's wheel. Each part is made separately, and assembled later. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

The family of S Satyanarayana has been making toys for four generations. He is 80 years old and still sits erect in his workshop for hours, carving toys. His three sons help him manage the workforce and sales. His grandsons are studying in colleges in Hyderabad and Bangalore and have no intention of returning to the village. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

Satyanarayana says the wood of the Tella Poniki tree used to make these toys were usually found within a radius of 30-40 kilometres of Kondapalli. However, these are gradually becoming harder to find because of deforestation and urbanisation. The owners of the remaining trees charge a high price for the wood. Before carving, it is chopped up and dried for three weeks to one month depending upon the weather. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

Different parts of the toys are carved separately using special tools called bahudara and aakrai, found exclusively in this region. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

The parts are glued together with an adhesive made of crushed tamarind seeds. Traditionally vegetable and herbal dyes were used to paint the toys. Only a handful of artisans still use the old methods as the ingredients are becoming increasingly inaccessible and expensive. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

Deeply in love with the art of toy-making, B Srinivas learned the trade from village elders and now earns his livelihood by making Kondapalli toys. His whole family works in the workshop, carving, assembling, painting, fixing, amid other household chores. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

B Srinivas' son is enjoying a break from studies as his college. He has just completed his intermediate exams and is about to join a diploma course in electrical engineering at a college in Vijayawada. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

After the toys are carved, the women paint them with soft, thin paintbrushes made of goat's hair. Instead of the traditional tamarind seed powder, Srinivas uses a powerful glue called Fevicol to assemble his toys, and acrylic or enamel colours to paint them. He says that using these synthetic ingredients is cost-effective and his customers prefer their shine and durability. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

Satyanarayana says that they stock these toys imported from China for a group of customers who prefer modern toys. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

These birds are replicas of the Angry Bird characters. Satyanarayana's workshop and store offers replicas of other popular cartoon characters, too. These come from Rajasthan and Bengal and are fast gaining popularity among the children. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

Abburi Narasimha Rao has come to the city to exhibit his toys at a government handicrafts fair. He wants to put these products online as well and sell to customers worldwide, one day. The fragility of these toys deters him. 'Shipping and packaging will be costly and if the pieces don't reach the customer intact, my reputation will suffer,' he says. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]

The lack of financing is forcing artisans to replace the traditional herbal ingredients with modern adhesives and chemical paints. [Swati Sanyal Tarafdar/Al Jazeera]