Toy Story

- Sneha Mahale

COME TO THINK OF IT, IT ISN’T THAT UNUSUAL FOR a relic or a monument of historical importance to fall into decay and disrepair. Over time, it could even ebb away from public memory to a forgotten remnant of a city, state or nation’s glorious past. Take Mumbai’s many forts, for example, or a number of baolis across India’s northern states. But, once in a while, it does happen that a relic or a monument gets a new lease of life and it once again stakes claim to become the city’s star attraction.

The famous Dolls Museum of Jaipur, which is also locally known as ‘Doll House’, was recently presented with this rare opportunity. It was established in 1974 by the family of Bhagawani Bai Seksaria and run by the Smt Seksaria Charitable Trust. At the time, the museum housed over 300 dolls from 40 different countries, including Switzerland, Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, Uganda, Jordan, Ghana, Indonesia, Syria, New Zealand and Malaysia. Visitors also had the opportunity to see dolls from various states of India. It was the first institutionally designed international ‘Dolls Museum’ in the country and attracted hordes of visitors through the 1970s and ’80s.

However, the good times did not last for too long. Time, environmental factors and probably disinterest took a toll on the museum. The dolls began to suffer and slowly, the museum began to fall off the tourist map of Jaipur.

Comeback trail