Collecting toys and dolls is not child’s play for Rohini Sen and her husband, Eshwar Naidu. Their house in Swati Nagar has a delightful collection of dolls, collectibles, craft work and tin toys from different parts of the world, and calendar art. Come Navarathri, they take pains to arrange a small part of their large collection as part of the ‘Bomma Kolu’ in their house.
“It all began when we were shopping for our wedding. Eshwar was posted in Madurai and he used to come to Bengaluru on weekends when we would do the shopping for the wedding. Since, he was in Madurai and priests from the Madurai Meenakshy temple would be conducting the South Indian wedding we had planned, we decided to go for a parrot theme for our marriage as the deity in the temple holds a parrot in her hand,” explains Rohini, an artist and art educator.
As a number of expats were invited for the wedding, Rohini and Eshwar decided to buy dolls and figurines that depicted different ceremonies and rituals in Indian weddings so that their overseas guests would get an idea of the Indian wedding with all its rich traditions. “I began frequenting shops that sell Navarathri dolls in Madurai and eventually that put me in touch with families in distant villages in Tamil Nadu that have been making these dolls for generations. One such family is MPK and we became close to them,” says Eshwar.
Rohini decided to buy directly from the craftsmen themselves without involving any middle men to help the craftsmen make ends meet. “I never bargain with them because I know how difficult it is to make such painstakingly crafted pieces,” says Rohini.
The craftsmen began sending the couple pictures of their latest additions to their collection and the two would decide what to pick up for their collection. “Now they know that I am particular about pieces that are done neatly and aesthetically. The eyes have to be painted well and the expressions have to be right. I am even choosy about the colours,” adds Rohini.
Visits to Karaikudi got them antique dolls and toys that were once owned by wealthy Chettiar families who were engaged in trading. They added several vintage dolls to their enviable collection, including those made in ceramics and celluloid. They got a bonanza when an elderly Burmese woman, who left the place after the fall of Burma during the Second World War, decided to sell her collection of 80 celluloid dolls.
Eshwar was also able to enrich his collection of tin toys, many of them in mint condition and in individual boxes. “Many of these tin toys were made in Japan and they are still in working condition. Later, China overtook Japan in the manufacture of such toys but those were not as good as the one made in Japan,” says Eshwar, displaying a toy horse with a cowboy, incidentally with Japanese features, that still can gallop around at the turn of a key. Then there is a space set that shows the lunar landing with an astronaut dutifully coming out of the spacecraft!
Most of their collection is housed in antique cupboards and chests that they bought from Chettinad.
There are dolls and toys from the United States, Japan and Europe. Each of the dolls with them has a story that Rohini and Eshwar tell you with great joy. So the one with children in a classroom is a new set of dolls introduced this year. Then there is an arrangement that shows a typical South Indian feast with food served on plantain leaves. The fastidious curator that Rohini is, she made all the plantain leaves from scratch because she did not like the ones that were sent with the collection they got from Madurai.
There are figurines of political leaders, historical figures and mythical heroes. “This one of Kumbakarnan, Ravana’s brother, who used to sleep for months, shows efforts to wake him up. This was also introduced for this Navarathri,” says Rohini.
For this Dussehra, they got people from the temple city to make the steps to arrange the collection. And Rohini has curated a unique collection with a theme that showcases her vast collection of dolls.
Rohini and Eshwar plan to keep their house open to curious guests who would like to know more about the dolls and their stories. “But we would like them to call and then come over,” they say.
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