VIJAYAWADA: For Andhra Pradesh, Kondapalli is more than a village known for its colourful wooden toys. The famous Kondapalli Bommallu, made traditionally from soft Tella Poniki wood, carry a rich folk-art tradition passed down through generations. The craft also has a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
But while the toys continue to have buyers, the number of artisans making them is steadily falling. The craft now faces a bigger challenge — the lack of a new generation willing to take it up.
Several artisans who spoke about their work requested anonymity, saying they did not want to be identified.
An artisan who has been making Kondapalli toys for nearly 20 years after learning the craft from his father said the number of families involved in making pure wooden toys had fallen sharply.
“About 10 years ago, around 300 families were making these toys. Now, fewer than 30 are left,” he said.
He said the younger generation was not interested in continuing the family trade. “My father’s generation did this work. My children are not interested. They want to move to cities and find jobs,” he said.
Making Kondapalli toys requires considerable time and patience. A simple piece can take several hours, while intricate designs may take 10 to 15 hours. Artisans paid on a piece-rate basis earn around Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,400 a day, depending on the number of pieces they complete.
The artisan himself is now considering reducing his work in traditional toys. “I may stop making authentic village dolls and focus only on dancing dolls as they need less raw material and are easier to make,” he said.
This highlights the dilemma facing Kondapalli. There are still people willing to buy the toys, but fewer people are ready to make a living from the craft.
Giri, a proprietor in Kondapalli, said the toys continue to have a loyal market. Buyers from Hyderabad, Bengaluru, the US and other places purchase them through both offline and online channels.
However, rising raw material costs are adding to the artisans’ problems. Artisans now travel 40-50 km to procure the wood used for making the toys. Wood that once cost a few hundred rupees now costs around Rs 3,000, they said.
A proposed wood bank, which is expected to start services soon, could provide some relief by making raw material available to artisans at subsidised rates.
But cheaper wood alone may not be enough to save the craft. The bigger question is whether the younger generation will return to the craft or choose jobs in cities.
For Kondapalli, the answer could determine whether its colourful toys remain a living tradition or survive only as pieces preserved in museums and memories.