7/30/2021 OneNote

Ellaiammal first session 

Thursday, July 29, 2021  6:00 PM 

Q-How did you get into this work? 

A-First they started the training center through DIC office. She joined the center in
1988 , 1989. The training was a yearlong. Then her salary was Rs 100 for a month.
After the training her salary was increased to Rs 250. After that she worked with
Sekar sir for few years . After which they gave her own training center in which
she taught the art to lot of people. 
 
Q-Where did the training center that was conducted by the DIC office happen? 
A-Uruvaiyar- name of the place. 10 km from their place. 
 
Q-Can you talk about yourself? 
A-After working with Sekar sir, today she is in a good position. This is all due to
the opportunity that she was given. She has one daughter. She is also very
interested in this craft. 
 
Q-When did you start Indo art works? 
A-In 1995. It started with 3 people now she is handling 6 people. 
 
Q-What type of work do you do? 
A-Moulding- importantly, finishing, packing, exporting. 
 
Q-What is the Moulding process? 
A- The process starts with the making of layer. 
Layer is made with kalnar mavu( stone powder), paper pulp,(paper waste), pasa
mavu( gum, binding agent)- kilangu mavu( tapioca powder). They will boil the
tapioca powder to make the gum. They will mix all the three ingredients. Now
they use machines to make. Back in the day they used to mix the ingredients by
hand. The mixture is called a layer. The layer/dough is similar to the chapatti
dough. According to the Mould the layer is taken and rolled to flatness. French
chalk powder( wastage from ponds powder, and the powder industries). This
powder is buffed in the surface where they work with the layer and also inside the
Mould. This prevents the stickiness from happening. If you take a Ganesh doll, the
Mould is of two parts. Front and the back. Front has the nose, eyes details and
everything. While pressing the layer into the Mould we should carefully press
down so that all the details are captured properly. The paper which is used for
cement bags is taken. The bottom part of it is removed as it will be thick. The side
pieces are taken and the tapioca gum is applied generously all over it. Two layers 
of cement paper is attached with the gum. The gum which is used for the cement
paper is diluted with some water. Once it is completely dry, the paper is cut into
small pieces . Gum is applied on top of the layer which  is pressed into the mould.
The small pieces that were cut earlier are now attached on to the layer which is in
the mould. After this they will leave it aside to dry. The rest of the day it is kept in
the sun to dry. 
Another dough is made for sticking the front and back part of the doll. That dough
is called as joint pesa. The consistency of it is more liquid-y, so it will be easy to
apply when joining the parts. The jointb pesa is only applied to the edges where it
is supposed to join not inside or anywhere else. Aftr this it is left aside to dry
again. 
This process  is called the moulding. 
It will take 1 or 2 days for it to completely dry. Once it is dried they will start with
the finishing process. 
Pisuru- extra leak outs of the joint pesa. 

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The pisuru is then roughed with the help of knife and it it smoothened with sand
paper. This will lead to give a seamless joint look. All the holes and repairs are
sealed and brought to perfection. This is the entire finishing process. The repaired
and reworking on the damaged parts , holes are sealed with sukka mavu. Even the
hands, legs are all joined . Once the finishing is perfectly done they will start with
the painting process . 
During the moulding process , diff parts of the doll is made separately with their
moulds. During the finishing process these pieces are all joined and are given a
neat finish to it. 
 
Q- All these process are made by one single process or each process is done by
each person? 
A- As a group we all work together. They mainly do moulding, finishing Is done by
some other people. They all sit together and do the moulding process. 
 
Q-do you use arusi mavu( rise powder )? 
A- no. Only stone powder. 
 
Q- is it restricted to any one of the genders? 
A-No anyone can do these dolls. 
 
Q- Is handmade dough better or machine made dough? 
A-Doing it by hand is very time consuming and it takes up a lot of energy. Machine
makes our work twice the time easier. The outcome of it has no diff.
Commercially machine is better for their work. 
 
Q-How much quantity do you put in machine  (each ingredient ) 
A- it depends upon the machine size . We have a bigger one. We make around 5
kilos of layer at once. 
Stone powder- 5 kilos 
Paper pulp - 500 grams 
Tapioca gum – 2 kilos 
First they add stone powder and paper pulp. They will mix them nicely. Once it is
all mixed up thoroghly they will add the tapioca gum. Only this way you will get
the right layer texture. In between stone powder is slathered to avoid the gum
sticking from the vessel.  
 
Q- Do you work on any other craft work like terracotta etc.? 
A-During the Navaratri time and Ganesh chathurdi,  we make mann bommai( toys
out of clay). We also paint them , we also do packaging and sell them.  
 
Q- Can you talk about Thirukannur and the craft in Villianu? 
A- First they made dolls with clay, now we make dolls wi9th paper. 
 
Q- How many dolls do you produce in your unit  for a month? 
A- Depends upon the product. They produce around 35,000 to 40,000 dolls. 
 
Q- Do you use diff dough for finishing? 
A- No we use the layer to make all the parts of the dolls( silara). During finishing
process a little bit of fevicol is used. 
 
Q- For how long are in this craft? 
A- Around 25 years 
 
Q- What made you work with this craft? 
A- When I took the training I did mann bommaigal. It is same as this process .  As
clay can be worked with the help of water We don’t need any type of gum for
that. They use severai( tool name) to define the dolls. If you are attaching sulam(
trident) we generally attach a metal wire for firmness. During her first training

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center she did the dolls with clay. In her second training center she made dolls
with paper. they made fanal item. Fanal item means one piece products with no
joint pieces like a wall hanging of Perumal ( Balaji), Ganesh. The back of it will
have a card board. The front will be projected. She found this very interesting and
presumed to work in this field. It is not very easy to master this craft. Lot of fails
will happen. We should have lot of patience will working in this craft. Rainy days
will affect it in very bad way. Everything should be done with care. The inside part
of the dolls is stuffed with cut piece for support. 
 
Q-Where do you get the cut piece from? 
A-We get it from printing place. It’s the waste paper. The cut piece is soft 
 
Q- Will you teach this craft to your grandchildren? Are they interested in this
work? 
A- They are interested. They also make these dolls. Sometimes they help us. they
know how to make. 
 
Q- for how many years are you living in vilianur? 
A- I was born here. I have been here since then. It is my hometown. I have been
working with sekar sir even before my marriage. 
 
Q-How much do you earn? 
A- 10,000 
 
Q- Do you have a bank account 
A-Yes 
 
Q-Is your house near or farther from the unit 
A-Near only 
 
Q-What type of support is given by the government 
A-DIC office is giving us the training centre. They also provide the loan. they give
stalls in exhibition. These exhibitions help us a lot. 
 
Q-Where and all these exhibitions take place? 
A-Pondicherry , Chennai, karaikal, valluvar kottam in Chennai. 
 
Q-Like Sekar sir do you export to abroad? 
A-We supply them. We mainly give our products to sir. He will send them abroad. 
 
Q-Do you have a shop? 
A-No , we sell them when they come to our unit. And we also sell them in
exhibitions. 
 
Q-How many times the stalls in exhibitions are given to you in a year? 
A-3 times 
 
Q-In stalls do you fix the rate pot the government does 
A-We do that 
 
Q-How do you decide the price? 
A-Taking the process into consideration, the man work, the raw materials for
making the dolls+ 25% profit 
 
Q-Which is the peak time for your work 
A-Ganesh chathurdy and ayutha pooja- gollu celeberation. From July – November
their schedule is tight. the production is high. Our work never stop, we
continuously work. We will start working on the next year's festivals. It’s a regular
work. During rainy days we won't make lot of dolls. We won't make large dolls.
We only produce small dolls. It's a little difficult during those times. 
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Q-How long does it take to dry if its rainy season and summer season? 
A-Summer season- 5 to 6 hours for small product, for a big product like 2 to 3 feet
it will take a day. Sometimes it takes 2 days. 
 
Q-How is your payment during rainy days? 
A-During rainy season the product is low  so the sales will also be low. It will be
little difficult. During those times we take loan to run the business. 
 
Q-How has corona pandemic affected your sales. 
A-We are regularly making dolls, but the sales are very low. It is difficult times.
Recently lot of people are into the gollu dolls. They are coming forward to buy the
dolls. Tourists are our biggest customers. Corona has affected our sales
extremely. 
 
Q-Can you talk about the place where you took your training? 
A-First I took training centre for one year. I was given a certification. And then
another training for two years. Certificate was given for both. First certificate in
1889. After that she joined a women's development centre( magalzhin membattu
kalzhagam). She was given a salary of Rs250. This was done in uruvaiyar. After her
training they gave her a centre where she taught the craft to other students. 
 
Q-How has the design evolved in these years? 
A-First they made dolls and other products from clay. Undiyal (piggy bank) in the
shape of cow, house, cat, dog etc. Dhasavatharam set was also made in clay. And
then eventually started working slowly with paper and made wall hangings. And
then they were given small dolls and products to make. Every year new dolls and
new designs come. They have to work accordingly. 
 
Q-Now which are the dolls that are in demand? 
A-Durga bavani- Durgapur amman 
Manjunath swami 
Shanthi durgai 
These are all new items for this year. there are all lot of varieties. 
 
Q-Are there any competitions in this field? 
A-There is always competition. Lot of them here make these dolls. But their dolls
are very good quality. The finish will differ. The method of painting the dolls also
differ. Some of the customers like the way we paint some might not. They always
aim to be better at their work. 
 
Q-If a mould for a particular design is used by two different unit, will they make
any changes are use it as it is? 
A-They sometimes make changes according to them. they will change the jewelry,
color and minute changes. 
 
Q-Do you do custom work? 
A-Making a mould for one doll will be very hard. The minimum order for a
customer work is 10 dolls. If the customers depends for one they will make it , if
that customer is willing to pay accordingly. 
 
Q-Do you give certificate to the people you are training? 
A-Yes, of course 
 
Q-Do you wish take further upper training regarding the work, export and
business? 
A-Yes 
 
Q-Have you ever felt that this craft was hard and not paying enough? 

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A-Of course, there are lot of difficulties in this craft. It is a lot of manual work. But
once if you get used to it you will start to love it.at the beginning it was really
hard. Now i am used to it.   
 
Q-Where do you buy your raw materials? 
A-Salem, vadalur- paper pulp, stone powder. We get them in loads. 
Paints- we get from pondicherry, and villianur. They give us discount as we are
regular customers.two shops that they are associated with. One in pondu another
in villianur. 
 
Q-Tools? 
A-Sevarai, mungil kuchi, uruttu katta( wooden roller), kathi( knife), water, bowels,
brushes. Metal wires for reinforcement near legs, fingers and thin and small parts.
Two types of metal wires. Thin is for reinforcement and thick one for trisulam
(trident) 
 
Q-Care for the finished dolls? 
A-Make sure it doesn't get wet. Once the primer is done, it's a little safe. Wrap the
doll in cut piece once the doll is over.in that way it will be safe. even after one
year there won't be any problem with the doll. If you don’t do that, the metal that
is being reinforced will start to rust and will destroy the toy. If they are shipping
dolls for Navaratri in June, July, the dolls are packed and kept ready to ship in may
itself. 
The rainy season doesn’t affect it. Only the wet, water does. 
 
Q-Have ever mixed this craft with other craft? 
A-No 
 
Q-Does it break easily? 
A-If someone drops it of course it will break. Otherwise it is quite strong. Even if it
breaks, if it repairable we can definitely repair it. 
 
Q-You have worked with both clay and paper. What is the difference? 
A-The process is similar. But it differs in weight. Papier Mache is weightless. The
weight of the same doll done in paper is 50% to 60% less when compared to clay.
both clay dolls and paper dolls are hollow inside. Except in paper they stuff cut
piece. 
 
Q-Do you face any health issues due to your work? 
A-Hands, legs, hips pain is there as usually. Nothing other than that. 
 
Q-Do you have any medical insurance? 
A-Not yet. 
 
Q-Do you make the designs for these dolls? 
A-No we have people from Bangalore who make these designs. Based on the
design the moulds are prepared. 
 
Q-Are you a part of any society or corporative? How much does it help. 
A-Yes, we get loan  
 
Q-Do you get any discount when bought bulk? 
A-We don’t buy bulk. Monthly we stock. 
 
Q-How many hours do you work for a day? 
A-It depends. Sometimes we also work till midnights. As this work demands such
kind of hard work. Especially peek time we won't have time to finish our order. On
normal days we work till 6 in the evening. In-between we get a lunch break of 1
hour. 
 
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Q-Where are your buyers from? 

A-Chennai- kadhibavan 
Umbucar 
Kadhicraft 
Salem, Namakal, abroad-export. For export we will give our items to Sekar sir , he
will take care of the rest. 
 
Q-Do you know how to use computer and phone? 
A-My daughter knows these technical stuff she takes of the maintaining part. I
take care of the rating, packaging and the craft production. 
 
Q-Talk about Villianur? 
A-Villianur is 10 km from thirukannur and it is nearer to Pondicherry.
Thirukameshwarar koil ther( temple festival) is very famous. Villianur Madha is
also famous. Thirukanji koil (eshwaran temple))- It is equal to going to kasi.
Sankarabarani aru(river). We have everything here. Schools, colleges everything.
We aso get a lot of tourists and city people. 
 
Q-Do you do anything else besides dolls using papier mache? 
A-Pencil stand, jewelry, flower vase, entrance pieces( thoranam) . You can also be
creative with it. 
 
Q-What is the most expensive piece and high sale ? 
A-Maan thala ( deer head)- decorative piece, welcome doll, pa velaku - deepa
lakshmi, elephants, kuberan dolls, radha krishna dolls, all types of krishna dolls.
We make all these dolls according to the clients wishes. For ayutha pooja- gollu
dolls go well. Small dolls are usually in sets. Bog dolls come solo. 
 
Q-Do you make dolls for Christmas and churches near Pondicherry? 
A-Yeah, if they ask we will make, decorative items, wall hanging items. 
 
Q-You say you get your raw materials from Salem and other near parts. How do a-
you get them shipped to your place? 
They will come and deliver the items we need when we order. They come
regularly. We don’t buy in bulk. We buy every month or two. Delivery charges will
be charged. 
 
Q-Can you talk about the packaging method/ safety measures you take? 
A-We use cut pieces . The cut piece is stuffed near hands, tridents where ever the
parts are projected. this way the product is properly protected while shipping
them.  
 
Q-Do you advertise your products and craft that you are doing? 
We have a lot of regular customers. Usually they only come and buy new
products. They will go and tell others, we also get customers this way also.
Advertising is specifically not done. 
 
 
 
 

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