Wooden dolls, Natungram

Wooden Dolls of Natungram is very popular in West Bengal and also in India. The art-making wooden dolls have been an age-old practice in India and Natungram is one of them. It situated in Burdwan district of West Bengal.[1] There are many kinds of dolls like Gour-Nitai, Wooden owl, Krishna, Royal couple etc. The wooden owl is most popular among them.

Wooden doll of Natungram
Colored Wooden Owl
Origin PlaceNotungram, West Bengal, India
IngredientsWood and colors
ShapeMummy Shape
ColourVarious colors
UsageDecorating
VariantsOwl, Gour NItai, Jagannath

History
Wooden owl, Natungram

The artist of Natungram used to work in stone carving first. with the king's patronage, they were working well. But after the fall of the king of Bardhaman, the craftsmen face difficulties. Then they left the stone carving industry and started doing fine arts and wooden works. One of the common family names here is Sutradhar because inspirations for most dolls are drawn from mythologies and folklore.[2]

Method
Wooden dolls, Natungram

Dolls are mainly made out of Gamar wood, Mango wood, Shimul wood, Ata wood, Chatim wood.[3] After making a shape of dolls, men carved the wood as per the requirement. Then women have painted the products with various colour. Then they used a glue, made from tamarind seed. Colouring has to be done by the female member of a family. They have used many colours in the dolls like white, green, yellow, black borders and red.[4]

References
  1. "Natungram: A place for Cultural tourism of rural Bengal". toureast.in. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  2. "Natungram of Bardhaman district is the hub for wooden doll making in West Bengal". Hand Made Toys. 2016-08-06. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  3. https://www.ijhsss.com/files/Agnimitra-Majumder.pdf
  4. "Wooden Dolls of Natungram". souradeep141905.blogspot.in. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
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