INDIAN TOYS & TOY MAKERS: Our Design Heritage

In India there is a living tradition of indigenous popular toys. Yet despite it's great worth and value, this area of crafts for children is among the most neglected parts of our cultural heritage. My interest in the development of Indian toys grew from a different angle. I used to teach a course in Material Manipulation for design students at the National Institute of Design (NID). We often looked for simple examples of good material usage and discovered that traditional mela toys, particularly the ones that move or make sounds, were remarkable examples of the creative and thoughtful use of materials. In the process, we also found that many of our simple toys had far more to offer in terms of fun and learning. Traditionally, such toys were associated with fairs and festivals. For most children, toys sold at the melas were the only playthings that they could afford. But all this is radically changing.