Jhabua Dolls
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.
Indian “Lipan Kaam”
India is an incredible place with every state having their own, beautiful handmade crafts and artisans with impressive dexterity. In the event that you travel through Kutch, an antiquated piece of Gujarat, you will most unquestionably be enticed to see their Lipan Kaam (walls of the houses made of mud (bhunga) flawlessly decorated with mirror works). It’s anything but a conventional wall painting art of Kutch.
Chittar Kaam is another name for the same. Talking about the roots of this beautiful work, it still remains quite obscure. In the Gujarati language, Lipan means mud-washing and Kaam means work, thus the name.
About the “Kaam”
Bhungas are made of clay or bamboo chips generally. Lipan Kaam is done above it, a combination of dung and mud. The dung utilized, being rich in fibres, performs as a binding source. The dung is usually from Camel or Wild Ass. Dung and mud are blended keeping in check the proportions, and manipulated to frame the batter utilized for lipan kaam.
Some have referenced the utilization of husk of Bajri for example millet as an option in contrast to the dung since the husk doesn’t draw termites.
Little bits of the mixture are taken and then glued on to the clammy surface for example a wooden board on which the fine art is to be finished.
First there is defining of the outlines with the mixture and eventually creation of the motifs enlivened from the rich and renowned embroidery designs. With mirrors (called aabhla) inserted in the mud work, you will see some shockingly enchanting artwork. Afterwards, a layer of white mud is made to cover up the work of art. Despite the fact that the credibility of Lipan Kaam lies in a finished piece that is all white or in shades of neutrals sometimes splendid tones are painted. The rooftops are wood- based. Bhungas are the habitats of a large population of Kutch. However, keeping in mind Kutch’s climatic conditions, a lot of modifications have been made eventually.
Beyond its beauty
Furthermore, Lipan kaam on the external surface of the homes aides keep the inside of the home cool. The magnificence of the workmanship is upgraded by its utility much more. Inside the home, the inside is enriched with mud-reflect work.
A solitary light demonstrates enough to illuminate an impressive area of the house because of the light reflected from the sparkling mirror-work.
Lipan Kaam is generally found in various embraceable types. To be specific, temples, peacocks, camels, elephants, women, trees, and different instances of life in the Kutch.
The lipan on the entryways, and the floors of the bhunga sport elaborate bas alleviation embellishments that comprise of okli-surfaces made by the impressions of fingers and palms-and etched structures that are trimmed with mirrors. Naturally, the Muslim groups stuck to enchanting and capturing examples of geometric lipan kaam as it was considered un-Islamic to portray human or animal arts.
The skilled workers are presently instructing understudies to shift to using compressed wood as an alternative to conventional processes because of the sharp, pervasive smell coming from using the traditional mixture. And this very alternative is being used extensively all across.
Basically Lipan Kaam is anything but a vital thing for the existences of the people of Kutch.
