Channapatna – Land Of Toys. Review on Channapatna

Channapatna – Land Of Toys

Kids always love toys & the right kinds of toys are very important for their entertainment & to develop the skills. I love to buy toys for kids & when buying toys I do a little research in the child's needs, interests, age, safety etc before purchase.

Whenever I want to buy safe, colorful, good quality & eco friendly toys I always prefer to visit a beautiful & historical place called Channapatna, this is a small town located around 60 Km from Bangalore. Channapatna is in Ramanagaram District. Earlier it was a part of Bangalore Rural District. This town is situated in between Bangalore and Mysore.

Channapatna is a land of toys. The wooden toys manufactured here are world famous. It attracts tourists from all over the world. Being eco-friendly, the Channapatna toys are totally in demand, wood and natural dyes are used to make them. The wood used for the toys is ivory wood, pine & teak wood. Rosewood and sandalwood are used occasionally for manufacturing the toys. Vegetable dyes are used in the coloring process to ensure that the toys are safe for use by children.

It is believed that Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan invited master craftsmen from Persia to train local artisans in the making of wooden toys. Over the last two centuries, there have been several changes in materials used and the skill has undergone a host of changes to cater to the changing environment.

You will be happy to know that wooden toys from Channapatna can be found in the White House. When US first lady Michelle Obama visited the National Handicrafts and Handloom Museum at New Delhi she appreciated & purchased the colorful Channapatna wooden toys.

The Channapatna toy industry is in big demand; they are exporting wooden toys to Europe and the United States. Microsoft India is one of the biggest customers, they source a lot of mathematical games and puzzles as part of their drive towards education to all children and use these toys to impart knowledge and education to the under privileged children.

But unfortunately from past several years the entire toys industry is suffering a huge loss because of the competition from the cheap Chinese toy market. Many people prefer to buy toys at low price, even if they're hazardous & sub-par. The Chinese toys are cheaper, and they're everywhere. They're in demand though they don't meet the safety standards like Chanpatna toys. Due to cut throat competition from China toys, almost fifty percent of the artisans have drifted away from the profession & many have moved to Bangalore.

I really appreciate the sincere efforts of the Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation (KHDC) it is providing useful assistance with marketing efforts & has rehabilitated around 250 artisans by providing proper shelter. KHDC also purchases two lakh rupees worth of wooden toys from artisans every month & sell them through their outlets across India. Products like bangles, key hangers, rattlers and animals are priced from ten rupees to two thousand.

Hope when people realize that the Chinese toys are not safe for children, the demand for Channapatna toys will once again pickup in the market.

Let’s support & encourage the artisans’ community by buying the colorful eco friendly wooden toys made with care & affection by skilled artisans,