A peacock with scraggy feathers, a sparrow in flight and a duck with a perfect bill — all of them with red-and-black beads for eyes and intricately woven palm strands making up their body — are perched on half-a-dozen palm sticks jutting out from holes made on a dried coconut shell. K Thilagarajan, sitting amidst piles of coconut and palm leaves, calls it a bouquet that stays fresh forever. He gently picks a couple of the long slender blades of leaves in hand and makes swift folds. It’s a delight to watch his dexterous fingers move in rhythm, weaving the leaves effortlessly. In a couple of minutes, a parrot made of palm is born. As he tugs at the loose end of the palm leaf strands that form the tail of the bird, the parrot flaps its wings.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
‘ Kai veesamma, kai veesu,’ he sings in tune with the bird’s fluttering wings. “The joy of talking with toys is beyond words, especially when you create your own toy out of Nature. Unlike inanimate plastic toys, mine have life in them,” says Thilagarajan, who makes toys out of dried palm and coconut strands for children.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
“I call it ‘ Olai -gami’, just like origami, as olai in Tamil means palm fibre.” Growing up in a village near Madurai, Thilagarajan’s childhood was spent in the midst of Nature. “I would climb up a palm or coconut tree in minutes, observe birds and swim in the ponds for collecting lotuses. There was lot of idle time those days and playing under the sun was the lone entertainment. However, I was always interested in handicrafts. As palm trees were abundant in my village, I used to make my own toys out of leaves that fell off the tree,” he recalls.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
Working as a school teacher, his toy-making skills came handy in getting closer to children. He’s now sought-after in children’s events, birthday parties and even farmhouse weddings and organic seed festivals, where he quietly sits in a corner and goes about making toys.
K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.
“I don’t teach the children, but just let them watch me doing it. Once I display a couple of finished toys, they get attracted and approach me on their own. There’s no need to tell them how to do it, for they observe keenly and usually pick up the skill in a couple of attempts,” he says.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
Apart from introducing children to an eco-friendly and sustainable form of entertainment, it also helps them gain concentration, improve hand-mind coordination and memory, as they have to observe, learn and remember the folds. “I start with toys made of simple folds. Then slowly multiply the number of folds to get intricate patterns. There’s no end to innovation in this, as one can keep inventing folds and shapes,” says Thilagarajan.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
There’s also a bit of science involved in it apart from art, he adds. “For instance, there’s a toy called vandu (bee) that’s nothing but two blades of coconut leaves strung together with a long whip-like tail to hold and rotate it. Kids enjoy rotating it above their heads, as it emits the buzz of a bumble bee. When a group of kids do it together, it gives the feel of being inside a forest. It’s nothing but air that passes through the two leaves that causes the sound. A simple science concept can be explained with this toy; plus kids also do a bit of physical exercise by moving their hands in rotation.”
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
The kathadi (fan), similarly, is nothing but two blades of dried palm leaf, pinned to a stick at angle of 90 degrees. “The blades will spin fast only if the kid runs with the kathadi in hand. That way, the toy encourages children to run and play outdoors, thus engaging them in physical activity,” he points out.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
“The only downside sometimes is that the palm leaf blades are sharp and may cause cut injuries on their soft hands. But it’s nature after all. However, parents these days are also too finicky about their kids getting hurt while playing. It has to be understood that any form of playing comes with falls that are inevitable.”
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 25/09/2018. FOR METROPLUS: K Thilagarajan, makes toys out of strands and coconut leaves, for children.Photo; G. Moorthy
“Toys should be all about playing and not possession. Unfortunately, we are introducing children to sophisticated and pricey toys that are mere possessions,” adds Thilagarajan. “Given how much plastic floods the toy market, it’s only time that we turn our children towards nature.”
