NOT JUST A BARBIE: THE DOLLS OF INDIA

TOYS AND INDIAN HISTORY

Would it not become obvious for toys to be fun and amusing, when the word itself means a ‘funny remark, trick or a frivolous entertainment.’ Indian Toys/Dolls were originally an item of child’s amusement and continue to be the same with some exceptions made for adults. Evidence of Indian history and toys can be dated back to Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. Different materials like wood, clay, paper, and plastic were and are used to make toys. It helped in the cognitive development of the child and foster social and intellectual connections amongst mankind. Creative urges and boundless human imagination strived them to craft toys of various shapes, forms, and sizes, and recreated figures and events from the material world and also from folklore, legends, and myths, thus boosting the subsequent Indian handicrafts.

The exquisite Indian handicrafts, allows every region to master a particular form of toy, with its own unique story to tell. To mention a few, in Punjab, the toys usually depict animals, birds, equestrians, and wheeled vehicles. Here, the localized form of the popular kitchen set kit among the ‘girls’, is called ‘handwai’, with other traditional toys including ‘lattu’ (spinning top), and ‘ghuggu’ (rattlebox). In Rajasthan, cloth dolls are made which are particularly used in puppetry shows, elucidating stories, even from Mahabharata and Ramayana. Handicrafts of the Chitrakar or Chitari community, from Sawantwadi are famous for their wooden toys made from the mango tree. In Bihar, ‘sikki grass’ is used to produce several dolls and other toys.

One such particular form of the toy is dolls which are very famous for their cultural and supposed ‘social’ implications, especially because of the Western notions and the monopoly created by none other than Mattels’ Barbie dolls. However, the indigenous Indian dolls didn’t necessarily cater to the wide notion of gender construction rather it highlights the rich Indian history and culture.

 

DOLLS OF INDIA : REPRESENTATION OF INDIAN CULTURAL HISTORY 

 

It is very unlikely for a toy to have a 300-year or 400-year-old history, but Indian handicrafts make this far-fetched notion possible. Indian history boasts of rich and diverse cultural traditions. And among its diversity, the Indian handicrafts always occupy a special place owing to its beauty, dignity, form, style, and aesthetics. Though the mass and cheap production of the Barbie dolls has taken a monopoly over the dolls economy worldwide, the demand for non-plastic and sustainable products has helped the Indian toy economy flourish worldwide.

 

CHANNAPATNA DOLLS

It is said that Tipu Sultan (1750-1799) received a varnished Persian toy, that made him excited enough to send for artisans from there to train some of his people, and this tradition is continued by the craftsmen of Channapatna town of Karnataka, also called ‘Gombegala Ooru’, i.e., ‘town of toys.’ Also, afterward, a man named “Bavas Miyan” introduced doll-making as a part of Channapatna Toys. His dolls were inspired by Japanese dolls, which still occupy an eminent position. These handicrafts are carved out of soft ivory wood ( or hale mara) and then dipped with lacquer, made from vegetable dyes. Since these are for children’s purposes, the dolls are painted with non-toxic materials, like turmeric used for yellow color or kumkum for orange and red, and thus recognized as GI-tagged commodities. Artisans majorly acquire the skills from their families who have been into toy making for generations, or from a master craftsman who acts as a head of a group of artisans. The most common channapatna dolls are -peg dolls and nesting dolls.

 

        Peg dolls

 Nesting Dolls

KONDAPALLI DOLLS

It was the 16th century when the craftsmen community of Arya Kshatriyas migrated from Rajasthan to Kondapalli, Andhra Pradesh, when Anavema Reddy invited them, bringing with them the art of crafting toys. There is also reference to this community in the Brahmanda Purana and they claim their origin to Muktharishi, who is said to have been endowed with this skill by Lord Shiva himself. These toys are popularly called Kondapalli bommalu, and are often made to represent rural India, Hindu deities, or scenes from Mahabharata. These handicrafts are made of locally available wood called tella poniki (white sander wood), and after the doll or any toy has been carved out and painted, the final step is to cover the piece with linseed oil to make it water-proof. There is a set of 24 human figures/dolls called the ‘village people’, that have been in existence since the very existence of Kondapalli toys. This set of dolls speaks about the professions of the then villagers- fishermen, priests, tribal people, farmers, musicians, etc. Other than this, paper mache dolls are also made, the inspiration for which comes from the Thanjavur dolls.

                                  Kondapalli coupe dolls

                                      ‘Village people’ doll

 

 

THANJAVUR DOLLS

Thanjavur Dancing Dolls, traditionally known as Thanjavur Thalaiyatti Bommai, are part of the Tanjore handicrafts heritage. The significance of these beautiful dolls and the history of the region are well-connected, and dates back to the early 19th century, during King Saraboji’s reign. The dolls are commonly in a pair of king-queen, to symbolize the several dynasties that ruled Thanjavur. Sago, plaster of Paris, wood pulp, and papier mache are some of the varied materials used to craft these handmade dolls. These are primarily of two kinds, one is the bobblehead version, and the other is the tilting doll version. The dancing girl, one kind of a bobblehead doll,  whose head bobs when tapped because of the spring attached to the head of the doll. On the contrary, tilting dolls are topple-free and hollow. They are also known as the Gundu Chatti Bommai (Round Pot Doll) or Raja-Rani Bommai. The base of the tilting dolls is structured such that they are curved and heavy, allowing the law of equilibrium to move the upper part of the doll.

            Tilting doll

 

WHY DID BARBIE FAIL IN INDIA?

 

Ruth Handler, the creator of Barbie (1959), stated that the purpose behind these dolls was to “allow girls to project their future self”, by allowing themselves to “ease their feelings about themselves and their breasts.” It eventually became the representation of American culture and became a household name. However, the politico-social unrest of the 1960s-70s, brought Barbie under cultural criticism, which led to the “Barbie Look” campaign of 1965, where her fashion and persona became wider. For instance, in 1964, Barbie’s Olympics-inspired travel costumes represented dresses from Hawaii, Japan, Holland, and Mexico. However, the basic model of the doll remained the same- white, slender, blue eyes, and always beautiful.       

 

This American representation of women did not suit well in India. Barbie came to India in the early 1980s and exposed “stereotypical hypersexualized and ethnocentric notions of Western beauty standards” to Indians and failed to preserve the cultural identity and history of the same.  While the doll’s advertisement in India was based on Western standards, the local selling process involved Bollywood actresses. This kind of dual representation was problematic as it led to an identity crisis among children as they could not connect to either form represented. Further, in the 1990s, the company, Mattel, continued to produce blond and blue-eyed Barbie, however wearing saris and kurta-kameez. Again, the non-acknowledgment of Indian culture can be well established by the fact that they chose to label this Barbie as “Barbie in India” and not “Indian Barbie.” The bodily features continued to remain the same, except for opting for a darker pigmentation for her skin.

 

Despite all these efforts, Barbie didn’t make the expected sales in India, like other nations. The hyper-sexualized body of the doll contrasted with Indian social values. Ratna Kapur (2001) writes “In India, hypersexualized depictions of females are often perceived to be obscene and are subject to censorship.” This view is very well reflected through the anti-obscenity laws as well. The Indecent Representation of Women Act (1986) prohibits any public portrayals of women that expose or portrays any part of the female body- “in such way as to have the effect of being indecent, or derogatory to, or denigrating women, or is likely to deprave, corrupt or injure the public morality or morals” of persons of any age or class. We must know that Barbie was not subjected to anti-obscenity laws, but her body comes close to an obscene representation of the female form, which the Indian history has considered “devi” or “shakti”.

 

CONCLUSION

 

To infer, I would like to quote the lyrics of the very famous Barbie song, to highlight how problematic the doll is and how the Indian dolls are true to its history and culture and equally safe for the children, mentally, physically, emotionally, and at all levels as it connects them to the Indian roots that help them maintain and acknowledge their identity with all pride.

 

“Ain’t your Barbie girl…I ain’t plastic…I do my own thing, yeah, watch me dance…”

 

REFERENCES

 

ARTICLES

1. Swetha, A.Lakshmi. “A Report on Kondapalli Toys”. 2017. https://www.scribd.com/document/538054102/A-report-on-KONDAPALLI-TOYS
2. Rambabu, Muppidi and Kumar, Dr.Anandaraja. “Kondapalli toys: An insight into the Crafts and the Artisans of Andhra Pradesh”. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Educational Research, Vol 9, Issue 12(7), 2020. 
3. Nemani, Priti. “Globalization Versus Normative Policy:A Case Study on the Failure of the Barbie Doll in the Indian Market.”Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal, Vol 13:1. 
4. Tulinski, Hannah, “Barbie As Cultural Compass: Embodiment, Representation, and Resistance Surrounding the World’s Most Iconized Doll” (2017). Sociology Student Scholarship. http://crossworks.holycross.edu/soc_student_scholarship/ 
5. Bhadania, N. A. (2021). The (mis) representation of racialized minorities: Barbie dolls as social problems in India. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 11(9), 637-649. https://doi.org/10.17265/2159-5836/ 

 

WEBSITES

 

1. The Toys of Channapatna — Google Arts & Culture
2. How to Make a Channapatna Toy — Google Arts & Culture
3. THANJAVUR DOLL FROM TAMILNADU – Wakelet
4. Rural Life – Traditional Toys of Kondapalli

 

IMAGES

 

1.https://www.harappa.com/sites/default/files/cart-800.jpg 

2. Image 2 (a): https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41ZoVhyufGL._SL500_.jpg
3. Image 2(b) : https://media.istockphoto.com/id/171345335/photo/colorful-indian-puppets-for-sale.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=xuAqIya276x582SNxmniQ7vfjy7dphxUMXHdnvS7oYo=
4. Image 2(c): https://img2.exportersindia.com/product_images/bc-full/dir_23/674324/sikki-grass-dancing-doll-105159.jpg

1. Image 3(a) https://storeassets.im-cdn.com/media-manager/channapatnatoysin/V9o1E05QF6m2oQd4GjvF_wooden%20peg%20dolls%20south%20indian%20couples%20new%201.jpg
2. Image 3(b) https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71sYl-X7HyL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
3. Image 4: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61WA+iY4WaL.jpg
4. Image 5: https://pushmycart.com/cdn/shop/products/IMG_3816.jpg?v=1663589172
5. Image 6: (b) https://www.gitagged.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Thanjavur-Bommai-Doll-1.jpg 
6. Image 6 (a) https://hasthakalalustores.com/cdn/shop/products/il_fullxfull.3128511209_fw4y.jpg?v=1659887137&width=3000
7. Image 7: pg 9 of the article, “Barbie As Cultural Compass: Embodiment, Representation, and Resistance Surrounding the World’s Most Iconized Doll” (2017).
8. Image 8: pg 17 of the article, “Barbie As Cultural Compass: Embodiment, Representation, and Resistance Surrounding the World’s Most Iconized Doll” (2017).

Image 9: pg 117 of the article, “Globalization Versus Normative Policy:A Case Study on the Failure of the Barbie Doll in the Indian Market.”Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal, Vol 13:1.