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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.
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