Handmade rag dolls of colorful cloth pieces produced in Gwalior, Bhopal and Jabua form a major handicraft of the state. These dolls are known as 'Batubai Dolls' and painted in vivacious colors to bring out their exoticism in the global market. Apart from dolls, places like Gwalior, Indore, Dewas and Bilaspur, also specialize in leather items like shoes, jutties, garments, bags and mushk.
The Gokak dolls of Karnataka occupy the pride of place in the realm of traditional Indian doll making. The dolls are called so after Gokak, a village in Belgaum district where this doll making craft has a thriving presence. Besides Gokak, Kinnal and Channapatna are other major centers of the doll making craft.
The Gokak dolls are wooden toys carved out of a soft variety of wood --- usually hariwala, polki, and hale. These bright and colorful dolls usually take the form of fruits, vegetables, animals and birds. Skilled artisans nurturing this 200 years old craft have mastered the art of using natural and realistic colors in the decoration of dolls.
In the hilly regions of Jharkhand, toy making is a craft. These toys for children have wheels for mobility or detachable limbs that are manipulated bu pulling of strings. These toys depict the grand weddings and their accompanying fanfare. The toys are mostly made in pairs-man and woman wearing different crowns, costumes and ornaments, which are striking feature of art of the state.
The skills of weaving and embroidery have been given a new dimension in Himachal Pradesh. They have been combined to create traditional outfits for well-crafted dolls known as Himachali dolls. The dolls dressed in Himachal style, complete with headscarves and adorned with traditional jewelry of the State, are almost perfect replicas of the women here. Regional variations are also captured in dress and jewelry. For instance, some of them are dressed as Kulu women wearing pattus while others represent gaddis (sheep rearing nomads).
Toy making is a popular craft in Delhi. Toys are usually made from cane, bamboo and tin and are available in Ajmeri Gate, Chandni Chowk, Hauz Khas, Paharganj and Ramakrishna Puram. Clay dolls are used as toys and as decorative items. Clay idols of goddesses are also used during festivals.
Every region in India has its own unique style of toy making, but the way in which toys are made in Assam surpasses them all. The skilled craftsmen of the region use very few tools to produce some of the best toy specimens.
Based on the raw materials used, Assamese Toys can be classified into four types - clay toys, pith toys, wooden toys, and cloth or cloth-mud toys. Clay toys are mainly made in the Goalpara region of Assam and have the characteristic pinched facial rendering of the mother and the child. Besides these, figures of gods, goddesses, and animals are also used by the traditional toy makers. The traditional clay toys in Assam are made by the Hira and Kumar communities. Most of these toys are in the figures of dolls, depicting brides and grooms.
Clay fantasies of real-life stylized, sometimes even graphic in their representations, mark traditional Indian clay dolls and toys. But the dolls and figurines of Krishnanagar in Bengal, are unique in their realism and the quality of their finish. Patronized by Maharaja Krishnachandra himself in the late 18th century, they truly represent a breakaway from the traditional form.
Kondapalli toys belong to the Kondapalli district of the state and are also called Tella Poniki. Kondapalli toys are famous for being eco-friendly and different from others. Made out of softwood, known as 'Tella Poniki', the toys of Kondapalli utilize sawdust, tamarind seed powder, enamel gums and watercolors in their creation. After the toy is carved on the wood, a paste made of tamarind, wood and sawdust is applied for giving further shapes and attaching limbs etc., to the toy. This art form belongs to the Kondapalli district of Andhra Pradesh.