ETIKOPPAKA
TOYS - ART & CULTURE
News:
Etikoppaka toys see
resurgence, but who will shape the future?
What's
in the news?
●
In his Mann Ki Baat address, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi made a mention about ‘Etikoppaka toys’ of Anakapalli
district.
●
Calling for India to become a global hub
for toy production, with the slogan ‘vocal for local toys’, he hailed the
efforts of renowned domestic wooden toymaker C.V. Raju from Etikoppaka for his
efforts in reviving the historical art form.
Key
takeaways:
●
Once a heritage at risk, these wooden toys
are on a revival journey.
●
A vibrant blend of tradition and
innovation awaits, but there are questions over carrying the legacy forward.
Etikoppaka
Toys:
●
These are traditional toys made by
artisans of Etikoppaka village located on the banks of Varaha River in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh.
●
These toys are made out of wood and are
coloured with natural dyes derived from seeds, lacquer, bark, roots and leaves.
●
The artisans mainly use the wood from
trees known as 'ankudu' (Wrightia
Tinctoria) that is soft in nature.
●
These toys have no sharp edges. They are
rounded on all sides.
●
Etikoppaka toys received the Geographical
Indication (GI) tag in 2017.
Uniqueness:
●
While making the Etikoppaka toys, lac, a colourless resinous secretion of
numerous insects, is used.
●
The already prepared vegetable dyes are
further mixed to the lac, during the process of oxidation.
●
After this process, the end product
obtained is rich and colored lacquer.
●
The lac dye is used for decorating the
Etikoppaka toys, which are exported all over the world.
●
Thus, the toys are also called lacquer toys because of the application
of lacquer coating.