Origin of the Wooden Dolls

The quality and prices of the old traditional items have also improved.The owls are also very popular item of Natungram.

Owl is considered the vehicle of Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity. The (‘Ulooka’) owl is a bird that sleeps during the day and prowls through the

night. This is because it can only see in the dark, and goes blind in the day. This partial blindness in the creature is actually indicative of a sadhaka's (seeker) tendency of going toward the pursuit of secular instead of spiritual wealth. Goddess Lakshmi is also said to be the mistress of spiritual wisdom. By keeping the owl as her vehicle, she teaches us to open our eyes to the light of the wisdom residing within us. This Karunamayi (compassionate One) Mother, hence, symbolically keeps ignorance under her control. The talented villagers carve owls from blocks of locally

available wood and paint them using bright colours. The owl is associated with the Goddess of Wealth – Laxmi and having one around the house is a harbinger of material comfort. Traditionally found in village homes, they have now found their way into plush drawing rooms of city homes. The boldly painted owl seen is sold in about a half a dozen sizes from 5 to 30 cm. Large owls are sold unpainted or painted in sophisticated urban markets. The most important thing is the colour scheme. Everybody who is associated with the craft knows the specification of each product, colour wise.