JOIN USReviving an age-old, indigenous art form
Take a few moments away from your hectic life and walk into the ongoing exhibition in Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath to see families, untouched by the hustle and bustle of the city, patiently crafting Kinnal toys.
Jointly organised by Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and the Department of Higher Education, Government of Karnataka, the exhibition is an effort to revive the age-old craft, indigenous to Kinnal village in Koppal district.
This traditional wooden craft is practised by families in Kinnal village which make figures of gods and goddesses, models of villages, birds, nests, fruits and many more. They are made with a paste of tamarind seeds and pebbles, a light frame of wood, jute, cotton and several other materials.
Raghavendra has been in this profession all his life like his father had before him. “About 35 families in Kinnal are involved in this work.” He admitted that the business has been declining in the recent past. “We make idols of ‘Gramadevathe’ which brings us some financial relief,” he said.
Roopa Tonthanahal has been coming to the exhibition every day for the past three days to learn how to make the dolls.
“It is a very long process but they work so patiently and gently. We do not understand the hours of effort that have gone into the dolls and we bargain with them,” she said.
Jeevan Xavier chanced upon the exhibition when he walked across the road from his office to have lunch in the campus canteen. “It is so nice to see them working together as a family.” He loves the toys and has placed orders too. Xavier, who works as a product developer for a high-end fashion brand added, “Everything today has become commercialised, but these families seem so untouched by it. It is a refreshing sight”.
The exhibition will be on till September 25 on the premises of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.