name
working life
1970 -
essentials
Prof. of National Institue of Design in India. He is known for his extensive research in the 1970's on Indian folk toys as a resource for students of science, technology and design, and for younger children at home and school.
info
By writing his book 'Dynamic Folk Toys' -
"Dynamic folk toys provide a sensory experience through their actions: they create movement, change form and make sounds." These are action toys made from very cheap materials, sold by street vendors at festivals all over India. "The design of these toys is largely based on the application of one or more of the basic principles of physics -
When we found a copy of the book in a UK library in the 1990's it confirmed to us that other people also found inspiration in the science and technology to be explored in toy making. The introduction suggested a way of working similar to our own design work at the very exploratory inventive stage. He says:
"One of the exercises involved creating an object by combining two or three materials or material forms. The emphasis was not on the utility of the object created, but on the properties of the materials chosen, and on the way that they were combined.... While discussing this excercise we looked around for any existing examples that used materials in this way. We realised then that many of our popular folk toys are remarkable examples of the intelligent and imaginative use of materials... I was particularly impressed by a popular toy called chidia, sparrow, or helicopter... When placed on the ground, the toy looks like an unusual but nondescript piece of construction, perhaps even an abstract sculpture. But when manipulated it is transformed into a chidia, a flying, chirping bird... Some unknown genius must have thought up the original idea, using his knowledge and skills imaginatively. It was a great achievement to create so much with such few resources."
Much later, with the advent of the internet, we discovered that prof. Khanna had continued developing this theme, and all this work has now become accessible on a world wide basis. He now also lectures widely on the subject supporting the idea of "learning by experimentation and creative activity" and using toy making to "introduce the child to the fundamentals of technology".
books
Dynamic Folk Toys -
Click this book title (below) to see our high quality PDF copy of the book
Other PDF’s are available, but most of the images are pixelated and unrecognisable.
see more -
• Sudarshan Khanna: Play & Learn with Indigenous Toys -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UEBxzt2WIM
• Sudarshan Khanna: Toy, Innovation & Design -
