ETIKOPPAKA WOODEN TOY CRAFT
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Context: The Union government choosing to confer Padma Shri on him in the art category is an honour to the Etikoppaka wooden toy craft, and it will go a long way in promoting the art, says C.V. Raju.
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Details:
- Raju is among the seven persons from Andhra Pradesh who have been selected for the Padma awards announced by the Union Home Ministry.
- An agriculturist-turned-craftsman, Mr. Raju has his origins in Etikoppaka, a traditional craftsman village in Visakhapatnam district in coastal Andhra Pradesh.
- He is involved in promoting the toy craft and usage of natural dyes for the past few decades.
About:
- Located on the banks of the river Varaha in Vishakhapatnam district of AP, is a small village called Etikoppaka.
- Made in the Etikoppaka region of Andhra Pradesh, these toys are made with lacquer color and are traditionally known as Etikoppaka toys or Etikoppaka Bommalu.
- The village is very famous for its toys made of wood.
- The toys are also called as lacquer toys because of application of lacquer coating.
- The village has a glorious history where the local jamindars started recognizing the possibility of making splendid and attractive toys much before independence.
- These are well known for canon toys, lord Ganesha form and bullock etc.
- The toys are made out of wood and are coloured with natural dyes derived from seeds, lacquer, bark, roots and leaves. The wood used to make the toys is soft in nature and the art of toy making is also known as Turned wood Lacquer craft.
- 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.
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