Push it. Watch it rise. This doll has been doing that for over two hundred years
GI-certified since 2008 — the same internationally recognised standard that protects Champagne, Murano Glass, and Darjeeling Tea. Fewer than ten to fifteen families in India still make it entirely by hand. Malaiyandi and Nandhini are among them.
Made by Malaiyandi
& Nandhini
Twenty-five years of craft. One
workshop in Thanjavur. He draws every pair of eyes. She shapes everything else.
Sold as a pair — always.
Two centuries of
balance, shaped by hand.
Born under Maratha patronage in the early 1800s. The principle has never changed: heavy base, light upper body, a balance that returns the doll upright every time it is pushed down.
Clay from the river. A
mould from Cuddalore.
The moulds come from Cuddalore —
carved by sculptors of temple idols. River clay soaked two days for the base.
Plaster of Paris and paper pulp kneaded into dough for the upper body. Before a
batch begins here, another craft has already shaped the face each doll will
wear.
She shapes it. He
finishes the eyes.
Nandhini came as a trained nurse
in 2013 and mastered the craft in two months. She shapes, joins, and paints
every doll. Malaiyandi draws every pair of eyes — last, always, and only ever
his.
“This is an artistic tradition. We have the ability to create
something beautiful with our own hands.”
— Malaiyandi
Something particular in mind?
Custom pairs made to specification. Once confirmed, Malaiyandi and Nandhini begin.