Folk
Toys of Punjab
A large number of those belonging to art circle
tend to ignore creative works of the village
folk and thus add their bit not to conserve
village culture already gravely undermined by
rapid changes. Their concern, particularly of
those whose philosophy of life-style revolves
round self-ego, are little concerned with the
past and the cultural heritage. This vision
of theirs often perpetrates that of their former
colonial masters and, sometimes, they even go
to the extent of deprecating observations made
by the great Indian men of art like A.K. Coomaraswamy.
In this context it is nearly paradoxical that
they appreciate great modern masters like Gauguin
and Picasso without even realising that Gauguin's
success depended on his interest in primitive
art and that of Picasso on the discovery of
African Negro sculpture.
Among the native art forms one of the most ignored
is of folk toys, which unfortunately, like many
other forms of village culture, has been considered
a kind of vanity or at the most as synonymous
with mere decoration, but this is not true.
They are the products Of artistic and social
values combined.
The earliest hand-made toys of punjab can be
traced back to the Indus Valley Civilisation,
dating from 2500 to 1700 B.C. These bear a remarkable
resemblance to the traditional toys of a much
later period which remained popular through
the ages till recently when factory made toys
found their way to the villages. However in
some of the remote villages traditional toys
are still made, though the factory made mass
produced toys are pushing them out gradually.
Among the most prominent toys of Indus Valley
Civilisation are the exceptionally large number
of small terracotta carts. In their expression
is a preoccupation characteristic of Indian
Art of the subsequent epochs. As example we
may cite the immense 12th century
Temple of the Sun at Konark, a building of vast
dimensions supported by gigantic stone wheels
and conceived and erected in the form of a cart.
Or again we might recall the Indian temple carts
in which images of the Gods, taken from the
shrines, were carried in solemn procession through
the streets. These more obvious instances are
parallelled by countless later works of folk
art depicting animals, equestrian figures and
wheeled vehicles, all of which, though varying
in quality and intended for different purposes,
also mostly as toys, may be regarded as belonging
to a constantly recurring type.
Traditional toys generally serve a two-fold
purpose. They can be used as playthings by the
children and as decoration pieces by the adults.
Toys of cloth stuffed with cotton are still
made by the women in the villages. Dolls, birds
and animals are some of the common subjects.
These are embellished with colourful additions
of beads, buttons, feathers, tinsels and tassels
and also with coweries. Sometimes the body of
the toy is appliqued. The material used in this
folk art reflects the dynamic spirit of improvisation.
Besides their ornamental quality these toys
have a sentimental value as well as emotional
appeal.
The popularity of the clay toys is diminishing
day day but still there are to be seen sporadic
instances of miniature dolls in clay, animals
and kitchen utensils, roughly coloured with
kharia mitti and decorated with motifs in bright
colours.
Edible toys in sugar have a great variety of
shapes. In village fairs one comes across toys
with a scientific touch though naively native
in character. In a basin of burnt clay is a
figure of a man carrying Lord Krishna and a
concealed syphon. When the water is poured into
the basin, it rises to the feet of Lord Krishna
and flows away, commemorating the rise of the
waters of the Jamuna to touch the divine feet.
In the past, village workers would bring a new-born
infant toys, representative of their respective
trades. Thus, a carpenter's wife would bring
a miniature bedstead or a toy cart to earn a
rupee from the infant's parents. The potter
would bring a small earthen vessel or a toy
in clay and the cobbler a leather necklace and
receive some grain in return.
In the eastern districts of Haryana, the ironsmith's
wife would bring a tiny iron ring for the child's
foot and be given a garment or some sweetened
bajra in return.
As the countryside is becoming more urbanis
, the tradition of handmade toys is dying out
and with it the individuality of design. This
is not something which can be revived artificially,
for to do so would be to get the antithesis
of the genuine tradition. But by preserving
samples from the past we may, through contemporary
designers, regain some of the beauty, individuality
and delight of the simple form of old toys.
But a prerequisite for this would be that those
of the art circle who repudiate everything of
the cultural heritage, particularly of native
arts and crafts, shun this attitude and, thus,
strengthen the mutual understanding of cultural
diversity and the affirmation of that identity
on which each people's creativity is based.
