Few countries have as varied an assortment of dolls
as India. Delhi is only one of many Indian centres for toy and doll
making besides being a meeting place for dolls from all parts of India
as well as the world.
The Delhi Dolls Museum-aptly named Shankar’s International Dolls Museum
in memory of its inventive creator, K. Shankar Pillai (1902-1989)-boasts
of one of the largest collections of costume dolls in the world. Founded
in 1957, the museum started with just a thousand dolls. It added 5,000
more dolls to its collection between 1965 and 1987-most of them coming
as gifts. Today the museum houses over 6,500 exhibits from over 85
countries. The museum is divided into two sections, one displaying
dolls from Yugoslavia, Greece, Mexico, Thailand, Poland, South Korea,
the United Kingdom, former USSR, North and South America, Australia,
New Zealand and some other countries. The other section is devoted
to Asian countries, the Middle East, Africa, and different states
of India. Particularly attractive are the costume dolls from Rajasthan,
Kashmir and Kerala. There are also special displays on themes such
as Man on the Moon, Gandhiji’s Dandi March, A Forest Scene, A Kathakali
Stage, etc. Other interesting exhibits include a 250-year-old doll
from Switzerland; Maypole dance (Hungary); Flamenco dancers from Spain;
the Kabuki dancer of Japan; a scene from the Ramayana (Thailand);
Bridal pairs (Indonesia); the Kandy Perahera Festival (Sri Lanka);
Mexican aborigines; Australian Maoris, characters from a ballet (South
Korea); dolls in picturesque folk costumes from Bulgaria and the dancing
dolls of Tamil Nadu.
One of the most complicated details is getting the right jewellery
for the dolls. Changes are made, larger items broken up and new composites
formed, bits and pieces taken from here and there to make an authentic
whole. Each doll is seemingly as sensitive as its human counterpart.
The museum becomes a hub of activity during summer (May to July) when
legions of holidaying schoolchildren come here all the way from the
south. A prime attraction of the museum is the Dolls Workshop, which
has been engaged in preparing Indian dolls with authentic details
since the late seventies. Each doll is fashioned with meticulous care
after prolonged research into the physical features of the individual
character, stance, dress and jewellery. The dolls are arranged in
groups like Dances of India, Brides of India, Man and Woman, etc.
They are given away in exchange for foreign dolls as well as sold
to collectors and museums both in India and abroad.
The Dolls Museum at Delhi is a miniature world come alive with dolls
representing the social life of many countries. Here, among the figures
beautiful and more varied than the figures of Old China, the world’s
children meet. So do the cultures to which they are the heirs. In
the blissful beauty of the museum, they represent a world at peace,
a world of visual harmony.
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