Everyone knows Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh, India) as a holy Hindu destination. What people still do not know is the fact that Varanasi is also the largest producer of wooden toys and dolls in India. Traditional clay and wooden toys make for great gift items for kids and adults alike. Beautifully painted wooden dolls, bright coloured clay figurines drawn from the epics and Indians legends, exquisite doll houses, miniatures of colonial furniture in lacquer and wood are other amazing finds in the narrow lanes and crowded streets of Varanasi. The finery of the handicraft is passed on from one generation to the other and is still a masculine domain.

This pair of painted wooden toys from Varanasi figures the mythological duo of Sri Krishna and Radha. Human imagination tends to colour even the deities in its own local hue, and that tendency is reflected in the physical features and garbs of Krishna and Radha. Nonetheless, Krishna is given his iconic blue body and the mesmerising flute. Radha, his consort, is an Everywoman, yet distinguished by her peacock-plumed headwear.

These toy dolls, figuring mythological characters, were meant to delight and inculcate traditional values as well. Culled from the trove of Indian culture, these auspicious handcrafted toys are a collector’s delight.