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Rang

Toy town of Karnataka

Channapatna

A town between Bengaluru and Mysuru that turns soft wood into toys coated in glossy coloured lacquer.

Channapatna intersection
Photo: LittleT889, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Channapatna is lacquer red

Channapatna lies on the road between Bengaluru and Mysuru. It is known in Kannada as the town of toys. Craftspeople turn a pale, soft local wood on a lathe and colour it while it spins. A stick of lac, a natural resin mixed with dye, is pressed against the wood; friction melts it into an even, glossy coat. The piece is then polished with a dried leaf. Traditional colours came from plants and minerals, such as turmeric for yellow and indigo for blue. The craft is usually traced to the late 18th century and the patronage of Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore. The toys have a geographical indication, and rattles, tops and stacking rings are sold along the highway.

Lacquer red#D1342BLacquer yellow#F2C230Lacquer green#3E9B4FIvory wood#EADFC6

Values are fair approximations of what the eye sees there, not measurements.

Colours tied to Channapatna

Pala indigoA tree from India whose leaves yield a blue dye like indigo
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Channapatna" on Wikipedia. If you know Channapatna and we have it wrong, tell us.

More colour cities

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๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Blue CityJodhpurOld-city houses washed in blue crowd the foot of Mehrangarh Fort, on the edge of the Thar Desert.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Pink CityJaipurThe walled city wears a dusty terracotta pink, first painted on for a royal visit in 1876 and kept ever since.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The White CityUdaipurWhite palaces and whitewashed houses stand around lakes in the Aravalli hills of southern Rajasthan.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ The Golden CityJaisalmerA fort and town built of yellow sandstone that glows like honey at sunset, deep in the Thar Desert.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ City of saffron and lightVaranasiSaffron robes, marigold garlands and oil lamps colour the river steps of one of the oldest living cities.๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ Town of Holi coloursVrindavanFor Holi the temple town of Krishna's childhood fills with clouds of pink, yellow and green powder.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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