Dolls have been a wellspring of solace and happiness for children since forever. There will not be a single child who has not touched a doll or played with one in their lifetime. Young girls have always had adored and played with dolls. But do you know able the making of dolls?

The maker can mould itself into whatever they imagine and want. There exists a town in Madhya Pradesh named Jhabua which is famous for its talented craftsmen and great artworks. Its native tribe is the Bhils. One of their most appreciated artworks incorporates excellent dolls made of cloth which are most liked and adored by lovely little girls out there. Not only that, but dolls have served a great part of their culture. For example, in Jhabua, bride holds a doll in her hand, gifted to her, while leaving to her husband’s place. Since the 60s, Jhabua had been devoted towards manufacturing dolls. Also, these dolls are gifted to a new born as blessings right after birth.

What is so unique about the Dolls of Jhabua? The customary attire that they wear seems to describe it all seem to be an exemplification of an individual belonging to the Bhil clan. Adivasi Gudiya Hastshilp is what the locals named this kind of Doll manufacture. The outfits created, address the ethnicity and life of the Bhil and Bhilala clans.

The local women of Jhabua are the ones with this extreme talent of moulding clothes into anything and everything they want and creating masterpieces in the form of Dolls. A main component in the process of doll making involves choosing attractively coloured fabrics which they acquire from their households itself. That mean these clothes are already used ones and this makes these dolls more valuable to others. Not only that, these fabrics are further dyed or undergone with different colouring techniques to add more value to the dolls.

To make the body of the dolls different pieces of clothes are fused together and every part is sewed creating a shape of a doll leaving the bottom of the feet open so as to be able to load the dolls with cotton inside of it to give them life. The strategy utilized for sewing is known as ‘Pakkatanka’.

Coming to the face of the doll, they are shaped with dung and are cut out with perfection. The mud gets firm after they are set to fire and are then covered with cloth material. Then the faces are painted giving them the looks on their faces that the makers desire. It is done with great caution and by extraordinarily skill makers.

The female dolls are enhanced with “Ghagra and Choli” which is a native Bhagorian bride’s dress together with accessories like “malas” and “kadas” (bangles) or neckbands made of silver called “chandi ki haansli”. . Family things like bamboo crates and ceramic are given as embellishments. The male dolls are made to wear “Dhoti and Kurta” together with accessories like “teer kamthi” (bow and bolts).

The dolls, at last, are fixed onto the wood base consisting of metal wires embedded in the legs of the dolls. These wires are pounded gently from the posterior of the wooden base making them extremely ready to be sold.

Numerous individuals are procuring vocations in this and earning a living. Thus, hoping this craft work flourish for ages.