Kannamma and Kannappa come out to play

Kannamma wears a paavadai sattai and two long plaits. “Isn’t she beautiful? She is the first doll that I made,” says Dr.Uma Deavi, Director of Shivanjali Creative Arts and Crafts Pvt Ltd. She started making Indian ethnic dolls in 1997 and says it was an unplanned thing. “As a doctor, I attended to a number of patients who were socio-economically backward. So many of them were malnourished. I decided to help them become financially independent and taught them tailoring and make dolls. We have trained around 600 women in this art so far.”

Deavi herself learnt doll making and tailoring from books. “Information was not easily available when we started out. But as our skills improved, our toys evolved too. We are still learning,” she smiles. The unit now employs 10 women and they make 300 dolls in a month. The dolls are named Kannappa, Kanmani, Khanna, Ammu and Appu. “We also make western versions of Kanmani and Khanna where they wear gowns, jeans and tee-shirts.”

The dolls have a cotton outer body with a stuffing of polyester fibre. Dyed woollen threads are used for hair. The eyes and mouth are embroidered on.

“There are not many toys available in our market that represent our diverse tradition. Our dolls comes in a variety of skin colours, from wheatish to darker skin tones.

This helps children understand that people come in many shades too and that they can look different.”

A heartening thing about this project is that the team recycles left over left over fabric from its tailoring unit to make the clothes for the dolls. “We also sell sets of spare clothes to our customers so that they can dress up their dolls in different outfits.” Their toys are washable and the clothes and jewellery are easy to remove. “We have customers who want toys that resemble their children. So we customise the clothes and hair . Spectacles are also added if required.”

Their Kannammma and Kannappa dolls are 18 inches tall, Ammu and Appu are 14 inches and Kanmani and Khanna are 10 inches. They also have functional toys designed as towel and tissue holders, fridge magnets and key chains. Deavi now plans to launch their latest collection.“These dolls represent different states in our country. And, showcase the traditional attire of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Rajasthan. The dolls representing Tamil Nadu will wear Kandaangi saris, while the one representing Gujarat will wear ghagra-choli with silver coloured jewellery.” This collection will be available from June.

Info you can use

They dolls are priced between ₹ 490 and ₹ 990.

In Coimbatore, the dolls are available at Lavanya Shop, P.N Pudur.

Yon can also order online on their Facebook page or Instagram page Shivanjali Crafts

For details, call: 88257-68302