CHENNAI: Kulala Handicraft Artisan Welfare Association, Vilachery, the makers of the popular “Vilachery Clay Toys” of Madurai has applied for a geographical indication (GI) tag for clay toys.
On behalf of the association, the application was filed by P Sanjai Gandhi, IPR Attorney and nodal officer for Geographical Indication Registration of products, Government of Tamil Nadu, on Friday.
Details furnished by Gandhi said that Vilachery toys are a unique and exclusive combination of terracotta and glazing work done on incredibly special clay, obtained from the soil from a tank near Vilachery. Artisans get clay from the tank to make the dolls. All the artisans still make dolls by using moulds and paint them by hand.
Sivakumar, CEO of Madurai incubation centre, was instrumental in moving the application said, “In 1948, a team of trainers and district industrial development officials visited Vilachery village and provided training for two crafts such as clay dolls and Burma Jolna bags.” According to officials at the GI here, the application has been received and the scrutiny will soon begin.
History: From mud to toy
In Thiruparankundram taluk of Madurai, two famous clay artisans, Kannan Pathar and Thangvel Pathar, came for work at the famous Chithira Kala Studio, the first cinema studio in Madurai, in the 1950s. Natarajan Velar, a famous artisan in Vilachery, having creative pottery skills, took the work to the next level. The artisans learned many pottery skills from those two artisans who worked at the studio. In 1965, Sadhasivam and Sooran Velar started the first doll-making company in the village and it was followed by many artisans who started making clay toys.