Description

Channapatna toys are colourful wooden toys manufactured in the town of Channapatna, in the Ramanagara district of Bengaluru (Karnataka). The town is also known as ‘Gombegala Ooru’ or the ‘Toy Town’ due to the popularity of these toys. These toys were traditionally made with ivory wood, but now in addition to ivory wood, other woods like rubber, pine, teak, and cedar are also used. For the process of coloring, natural colors such as vegetable dyes are used so that it is safe for use by children.

The history of these toys can be traced back to the reign of Tipu Sultan. He invited artisans from Persia to train the local artisans for making these toys.