Sugandha Nagar shares her tale of reviving traditional Indian playthings and reliving childhood
The last year brought me the joy of motherhood. And as they say, a significant part of that joy is the opportunity to relive one’s own childhood. As my little one grew from weeks to months, I found myself filling the house with scores of toys for him, many that were appropriate for his age and learning but also some that I found interesting and thought I would have relished through my childhood. To align my purchases with my resolve of responsible buying and exposing my little one to minimal plastic products and mostly home-grown items, I would carefully read through the specifications of the toys. I noticed that almost every other toy was manufactured in China. Musical tables, cars and carts, puzzles and stuffed animals, from popular brands like Fisher Price, Mattel, Lego are manufactured in China. Even interactive books, published by houses like Ladybird, Penguin, MilesKelly, Igloo and based out of the UK or the USA or anywhere else in the world are all printed in China. With much struggle, I could find only a few brands selling toys that checked all the boxes, were eco-friendly, manufactured in the country, sturdy and of good quality, and most of all engaging and age-appropriate for a toddler. This experience threw me into a sudden nostalgia for toys from my early years of life and I realized that many wonderful toys from our own culture were either lost in time or had no takers any longer.
India’s glorious cultural heritage boasts of being the originator of many globally popular games and toys. In fact, archaeological findings highlight the presence and importance of toys in India from the Indus Valley Civilization, over 6000 years back. Needless to say, toys are an important part of childhood, as they educate the child on his or her environment and aid physiological, mental and emotional development. Traditional Indian toys were simple, took inspiration from nature and supported the development of the mind by offering necessary stimulation. The rattles and dugdugis, the wooden toys of Varanasi, the head-shaking Thanjavur dolls, the Channapatna rocking horse and spinning tops, wood-chiselled Kondapalli and Natungram dolls, Rajasthani kathputlis, or the miniature Bhatukali utensils have been a part of our treasured possessions and memories at some time. Made of natural and recyclable material, these toys were in sync with our sensibilities and sanskar. These toys told a story and were a cultural asset, promoting both learning and livelihood.
India is probably the world’s largest crafts capital and the greatest resource of artisanal skill and wisdom. However, there is no clear, aggregated data on the size and contribution of the handicraft and handloom sector in India, nor the size of handmade exports or people engaged in handmade business. Available data has been restricted primarily to surveys on handicrafts and handlooms conducted by the Ministry of Textiles and the estimates vary, depending on the authority. Many crafts and artisans are outside the scope of this ministry, and often toymakers fall outside this ambit. A robust database on the size and contribution of the lifeline of the most vulnerable sections of the Indian economy has been missing and this challenge of data has been one of the many factors negatively impacting the handmade toy sector too. Neglect of several past governments, inadequate resources to evolve to match the changing markets, lack of professional guidance and exposure, subsequent low revenue, little interest from the following generations have only added to the many woes of the craft persons of these toys. The dismal realities of this sector are a result of undermining its potential and huge competitive advantage. The Indian traditional crafts offer rural opportunities for non-farm, labour-intensive, employment-intensive, value-added activity and hold multifold advantages for each aspect of society and its development. These crafts offer livelihoods, generate revenues in domestic and global markets, utilize eco-friendly and sustainable processes, preserve tradition, promote cultural heritage, and empower women and marginalised communities as most artisans are still at the margins of society. With social, political, environmental, cultural, historical, economic, aesthetic and even spiritual elements, the Indian handmade industry and its issues require multi-sectoral consolidated attention and effort.
The 12th Five Year Plan had projected that this sector would become the largest non-farm sector in rural India, swelling its workforce by 10 per cent, doubling the output and exporting 18 per cent more during 2012-17. The Economic Census 2012 is a milestone in the process of collecting robust datasets for India’s crafts, but as a database is limited. It accounts for only those establishments that take products directly to the market. To begin with, building a detailed and accurate database of craftspersons and artisans including those engaged in handcrafting toys is pivotal. On these lines, the Ministry of Statistics has recommended undertaking further surveys to evaluate and verify the data from the Economic Census 2012 and to analyse some puzzling data sets and for the development of satellite accounts for assessing the contribution of this important sector. Satellite accounts will help map opportunities and challenges for building on the existing base of these sectors, taking to scale an unparalleled Indian advantage.
Additionally, there is a need to hone entrepreneurship capacities to build a brand image that aligns ‘handmade in India’ with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. The Toycathon 2021 initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a great initiative in this direction, conceived to challenge India’s innovative minds to conceptualise novel toys and games based on Bharatiya civilization, history, culture, mythology and ethos. A collaborative effort by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, All India Council for Technical Education, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Textiles and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the initiative will support winning teams to commercialise the exceptional toy concepts with support from industry and investors. Currently, India’s toy market stands at around 1.5 Billion USD, dominated primarily by imported toys and based on concepts that do not represent Indian heritage, civilisation and value systems. The newly formed Ministry of Cooperation also has some hope for nearly 250 million of our traditional artisans organised into nearly 600,000 co-operatives, including those who hand make toys. The ministry proposes to deepen and strengthen co-operatives as a true people-based movement that reaches the grassroots. Furthermore, each small step of conscious and responsible buying by individuals will be catalytic in reviving our traditional toys and empowering the toymakers.
(The author is a development communication specialist who leads communication for the health and governance initiatives at the United Nations Development Programme in India.)
