| Perhaps the
only one of its kind in South India, this Museum has a collection of about a hundred
and fifty dolls, all hand-crafted with meticulous attention to detail and representing the
wide diversity of people and customs of India. The dolls represent young men and women,
from Gujarat to Nagaland and from Kashmir to kanyakumari. There are 'brides' and
'bridegrooms' from various states; dance figures representing the rich repertoire of
Indian classical dances as well as folk dances in groups. Understandably, dolls were originally made as playthings for
little children. For a girl, the baby doll appeals to her developing sense of her own
nature as a female and by 'mothering' the doll, she strengthens her own role identify.
This may not be true of little boys who may not handle dolls with the same tenderness, and
care!.
The dolls in the Indian section does not represent babies, but young people and will be
of general appeal not only to boys and girls, but also to adults who take delight in
seeing young people all decked up in conventional costumes. You will, however, not notice
any boy or girl, attired in 'jeans and top' in this Indian collection.
It is our intention to make this a kind
of International Dolls Museum with dolls from countries all over otherworld. We have begun
this rather difficult venture, but hope to provide visitors with a variety of dolls from
outside India.
More than half the number if visitors to
our Museum of Kerala History, Gallery of Paintings and Sculptures and Center for Fine Arts
are school children, and we are sure that they will be delighted with this Dolls Museum
the like of which they are unlikely to see elsewhere in this part of the world. |
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