Etikoppaka Wooden Toy Craft

Context: The Union government choosing to confer Padma Shri on him in the art category is an honour to the Etikoppaka wooden toy craft, and it will go a long way in promoting the art.

About Etikoppaka Wooden Toy Craft:

• The toys are made with lacquer colour and are traditionally known as Etikoppaka toys or Etikoppaka Bommalu.
• The toys are also called as lacquer toys because of application of lacquer coating.
• The toys are made out of wood and are coloured with natural dyes derived from seeds, lacquer, bark, roots and leaves.
• The wood used to make the toys is soft in nature and the art of toy making is also known as Turned wood Lacquer craft.
• While making the Etikoppaka toys, lac, a colourless resinous secretion of numerous insects, is used.
• The toys are also called as lacquer toys because of application of lacquer coating.

• Etikoppaka is a picturesque village on the banks of Varaha River in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh.
• The success for the Etikoppaka toys is thought to have come from the Rajas of Vizianagaram, who migrated to this region around the same time and acted as catalysts as landlords.

GI tag:

• Etikoppaka Toys have obtained their GI tag under Handicrafts category in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
• Agricultural, natural or manufactured goods are registered as Geographical Indications (GI) by the Geographical Indications Registry as per the provisions of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999.

Source:                    The Hindu

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