Traditional Decorating with Wooden Indian Toys

These beautiful wooden toys have been in my family home from even before I was born. I brought them out to decorate the table for an outdoor garden party one evening and couldn’t help being fascinated once again.

The traditional arts of India are mesmerizing. The craftsmanship is impeccable and the details are intriguing. I have no clue as to the history or the origin of this particular style of woodcraft done in all black. All I am told is that my late father purchased them from a roadside vendor. Ever since, they have been in my home, standing proudly in the ‘showcase’ – coming out during Diwali cleaning which I used to look forward to eagerly, to get to play with them.

Many lovely details are now missing. The soldiers – as I knew them as – are missing some of their dangling earrings and the spears they held in their hands. The little King and the Queen (at least that is what I always thought of them as) are cute little bobble heads and still make the kids laugh.

As a little girl, my attention was caught with this miniature wooden set of Indian musical instruments including the ‘Tabla’ and the ‘Veena’. But it is not just a pretty toy to look at. The ‘Tabla’ actually holds a lovely surprise.

It opens up to become a ‘supari’ box or to store some such things as ‘saunf’ or ‘mukhvaas’ for the guests. Now you might understand why I was so fascinated with this particular object. I could never get enough of playing with it!

Such simple pleasures make up a child’s life. These were treasures indeed – being made accessible once a year before going back to their very well defined places in the showcase. Now, I see my children being fascinated by them and waiting for them to come out of the case. True, modern kids have too many more distractions like TVs and mobile phones for them to focus their attention on these simple everyday objects of beauty. But nevertheless, I am glad they love them and that these heirloom toys continue to be a part of their lives too.

Together, they make for an eye-catching display indoor or outdoors. As a child, I never would have imagined decorating with them, but today, I am thankful for every collectible that I am passed on. Using heirlooms in everyday life lends a new meaning to decorating.