Make way Barbie and Ken, here come Lowgee in ethnic wear and purple hair and Mamaibodo, the neighbourhood’s strict Bodo uncle. Dokhona-clad Lowgee and UN aka Upendra Nath Brahma in a gamcha are both toys created at Zankla Studio in Assam. . The plastic-free cloth toys in traditional attire tell the story of the Bodo community of Assam. After all, the dokhona is a traditional attire of Bodo women and the gamcha is a handmade towel woven specifically men in Assam.
Many other characters like Lowgee and UN are catching people’s attention at craft bazaars and trade fairs across India. 32-year-old Kirat Brahma, a National Institute of Design (NID) graduate, and founder of Zankla Studio at Rangapani in Baksa district, Assam is pleased to see the curiosity of peop; he says it is because,“My toys dress differently.” Zankla’s other heritage soft toys that are popular are Ada Lowdoom, a Bodo traveller, Bodo Jwhwlao, a traditional Bodo fighter, Gowdang Rani, a Bodo princess and so on.
