Centuries-old craft fights Chinese influx

BENGALURU: The colorful handmade toys made out of soft white wood, also called ` Aale Mara', and non-toxic vegetable colours were once the pride of Karnataka. Legend has it that the craft was patronized by Tipu Sultan during times of drought to help the people of Channapatna earn a living. He brought a family of artisans from Persia to make wooden columns and later wooden toys to ornate the columns.
Later, when the famous Mysore doll industry started dwindling, all the dolls for Dasara were made in Channapatna, and that's how the tradition lived.The craft flourished and hit its peak in the 70s and 80s when wooden napkin rings were exported in huge numbers.
“This was Channapatna's golden period. But soon demand for flat toned finish picked up, affecting the traditional lacquering of tonal gradation. This continued for a good 10 to 12 years. Then buyers found cheaper places such as China and other Asian nations for these products,“ says Atul Johri.
“Although a few groups and individuals continued to make the traditional wooden wares but the craft started losing its sheen as the tonal gradation techniques were lost owing to mass production in order to compete with the Chinese replicas, and lack of skilled artisans. This also led to people leaving Channapatna for odd jobs in Bengaluru,“ he adds.
“The replicas first land in Mysuru and then come to Channapatna, and sold along with the toys made here. The government has barely done anything to check this influx.The replicas were so cheap that the units and artisans in Channapatna couldn't sustain the competition and many started selling the cheap foreign imita tions, which was more profitable,“ says Ali Khan, a fourth genera tion craftsman.
Govt is indifferent, say artisans
The government con ducts training workshops but they haven't been of much help to the artisans in Chan napatna.
With no focus on the market dynamics for domestic and global consumption, these trainings are of little benefit. And, after the workshops, the artisans are left with no work and end up doing odd jobs.
The training kits distributed by the government includes impact drill and handsaw among other things.“These are useless for artisans.The kits were received by all and sundry. A tomato seller who got the kit sold it to me for Rs 2000,“ says Yusuf Ali Khan whose family has been living in Channapatna for the past 50 years. He said there were 300 to 400 artisan houses a decade ago, but today it's less than 100.