Puneeth Rajkumar dolls on sale this Dasara season

Many unique and new festive figurines have hit the market, including a tribute to the late Kannada actor

Divya Tejaswi makes customised dolls, which depict families. 

Tamaala Art Merchandise, J P Nagar has come out with a doll of Sri Vishwesha Tirtha.

A replica of the Stone Chariot in Hampi is being sold by Bommbe_0114.

Doll sellers in the city have stocked unique collections for the upcoming Dasara season.

A Puneeth Rajkumar doll is grabbing much attention. It has been conceptualised by Nagalakshmi K, owner of NH Dasara Dolls, Basavanagudi, and designed and created by a dollmaker in Tamil Nadu.

Most gombe (doll displays) feature human figurines and modelling a doll on the late actor felt right because “many people in Karnataka feel attached to Puneeth,” says Nagalakshmi. “A lot of fan clubs are enquiring. We have sold around 30% of the stock,” she talks about the 10-inch doll, priced at Rs 1,200.

Another big attraction are Puri Jagannath idols. Dolls depicting stories from the Mahabharata, including Abhimanyua kalyanam (the marriage of Abhimanyu), Draupadi vastraharan (the disrobing of Draupadi), and Shakuni pagade aata (the game of dice which led to the war of Mahabharata), are new on the inventory. “We also have dolls of Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, and Raghavendra Swamy. Our doll sets cost Rs 1,600 to Rs 4,800,” she adds.

Call: 99453 05207

Open to customisation

Divya Tejaswi, who runs Lalitha Dolls in BTM Layout, customises dolls out of fibre and yarn. Family dolls, featuring couples, parents with children, and/or grandparents, are the top picks this year, she says. As per the customer’s request, she can adorn the dolls with saris, kurtas, long skirts and elaborate jewellery. These are priced at Rs 500 and more apiece. She is also making Navadurga (nine forms of Durga) and Mahishasura mardini (destroyer of Mahishasura) dolls this season.

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Sri Vishwesha Tirtha doll

Tamaala Art Merchandise in J P Nagar has crafted a doll on Sri Vishwesha Tirtha, the 32 pontiff of Pejawar Mutt, who passed away in December 2019. This doll is priced at Rs 1,300.

Vinay Prashant, who co-runs it with Suvarna Kamakshi, says, “Dollmakers were not comfortable making new designs during the peak of the pandemic, so we launched the doll this year.”

They are also selling the replica of Mysore Palace. “We used to make 16x18 inch replicas earlier but this one is a two-and-half feet long, a collector’s piece,” he informs. They have added new versions of K R Circle and Clock Tower of Mysuru. Dolls on the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, and Kondapalli doll sets from Andhra Pradesh are also on sale.

Dolls start from Rs 100 onwards.

Call: 76761 97344

Stone chariot

Kishore Gowda is selling miniatures of the Stone Chariot in Hampi at his store Bommbe_0114 on Magadi Road, next to Vijayanagar, and also on Instagram. Available in different sizes, these cost between Rs 1,250 and Rs 3,000.
He also has Mysuru-themed dolls, made from wood. “They include replicas of KR Circle and Clock Tower, and a Dasara procession set with 40 miniatures,” he says. These start from Rs 100.

Call: 90085 84876

‘Better sales this year’

OmShakti Industries, a venture by S Manikanta, is selling dolls at the Grand Gollu Dolls Festival near Vaibhav Theatre in Sanjaynagar. The festival is on till October 4.

Ashtalakshmi (eight forms of Lakshmi), Navadurga, and Dashavataram (10 avatars of Vishnu) dolls are popular as also the idols depicting Pattabhishekam (coronation) of Lava and Kusa, and Rama, and Ravana vadham (killing of Ravana), says Manikanta. Mysore Dasara procession sets are also selling well. “Sales are much better this year,” he shares. Dolls here start from Rs 100.

Call: 96112 33566