Dolled up with stories

KOCHI: At the confines of Subaida’s home in Bengaluru, one is greeted by rag dolls stacked up in several corners. The dolls, made from waste material, are the result of the Kannur-native’s hard work and perseverance for several years. Some of these rag dolls, she says, have been shipped for sale to countries like Africa, United Kingdom and the USA.

“I create the dolls based on the demand from clients. Some of the dolls are sold during sale expo’s,” said Subaida K A, who was in Kochi for workshop organised by NGO’s Dhara and Orygyn recently.
 The 60-year old moved to Bengaluru from her native place in Kannur, 28 years ago. However,  there, her life took a turn for the unexpected. “My husband left me and I was given no option but to raise three young children on my own. It was one of the worst phases of my life.  I used to visit the doctor often with complaints of headache. It was he who suggested me to find a job.  Back home, none of the women in my society worked. However, I soon got a job at an Provision India which was helping people develop practical and sustainable ways of income generation. It was during that time, we were introduced to rag dolls which were shipped to our place. Those at Provision India, encouraged us to try our hand in making similar dolls. Many of them were hesitant, but since I was always passionate about hand works and embroidery, I thought I should give it a try,” she said.

And what had started as a trial, soon became a full-fledged passion. “I took the doll home. This was in the late 1990’s and I had never seen such dolls in my life. I dismantled it to learn how these dolls were made. Ever since then, there was no looking back,” she said.Soon, she would get in touch with Leila, who founded Popiseed, a Trust based in Bangalore. Popiseed was working with artisans and it was Leila who discovered that Subaida’s skill of making rag dolls could be used for an entirely different purpose.

“We had a team of volunteers who worked with us to create workshops. Most of it focused on talking about women and child abuse and on adolescent health. We were also documenting stories of especially young women and about instances they felt they were violated. This is when we realised that we could use Subaida’s dolls to tell our stories,” said Leila.

The dolls were named Zi dolls and are being created in unique styles, colours and tones. “ Some of the dolls are also face painted, though embroidery works are the most preferred. Apart from the skills, we felt Subaida could use her experiences and the issues she faced to tell stories through her dolls,” said Leila.
The dolls have unique expressions and are created in the most child-friendly manner. “A lot of experimentation is done with the hair. Now, we are creating miniature rag dolls which can be used as key-chains and pencil head-tops,” said Subaida.