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Toy Making
Toupadana near the capital city of Rnchi makes very unusual wooden toys that are completely abstract. They are just pieces of wood painted to look like human figures with angular lines but no separate limbs. Hands are indicated only by painting lines on the body. The toys are always in pairs -- man and woman waering different crowns, costumes and ornaments. they are breathlessly stunning and very original as they are different from any other doll
The love of the people of Jharkhand for the grand weddings and their accompanying fanfare is reflected in the toys also. The toy traders recreate the wedding of Lord Rama or the elephant god Ganesha in the toys. The lord as a groom is draped in a canary yellow lower garment or dhoti, the typical wedding finery for a bridegroom. The tinges of gold on the garment and the veiled face of the toy bride complete the ambience. Of the scenes of nature nothing pleases these craftsmen more than the sight of a flock of brilliant parakeets in paddy green feathers. The contrasting red of the beak is a bonus that few can overlook. But the bird is not a boring depiction of its realistic form. Only the colours of the bird are copied and then re-designed in folk art forms of well- defined lines and frozen posture forms.
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