Notungram's Wooden Owl

Wooden dolls were introduced to Bengal by the ‘sutradhar’ or carpenter community and they were the experts of this craft. The upsurge of creating these dolls began in the districts of Howrah, Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore.

However, the map has changed with time and at present only a few artisans of Burdwan ace this craft. Places like Natungram, Daihat and Patuli in Burdwan have been still working hard to preserve the art of wooden doll-making. To make these dolls, wood from white teak trees are cut, cleaned and carved to give them desired shapes. In ancient times, these carved woods were then tinted in natural dyes. Though in present times, mostly artificial paints are used to colour them up. Currently, the artisan community of Natungram is constantly coming up with new ideas to enrich these dolls in utility and introduce them as a much widely accepted home décor product.

One of the most dolls is an owl. Although the idea of carving out an ‘owl’ doll routes back to the essentiality of worshipping Goddess Lakshmi, the owl has itself become a globally appreciated artifact currently.