Sutradhar, located in one of Bangalore’s residential areas, is easy to spot. Among all the houses is this one which you cannot miss - there are mobiles of crocodiles and elephants hanging in the balcony. And you know it is Sutradhar when you notice painted prints of baby feet on the staircase that lead to this toy outlet on the first floor. Inside, there is much activity as Sutradhar readies itself for its annual exhibition of ‘Indian’ toys and games that are sourced from over 130 craft groups across India. And Mandira Kumar, who heads Sutradhar, takes a break after lunch to talk to indiamarkets about her organisation, its work and what she foresees in the future for Sutradhar.

An educational and media resource centre set up in Bangalore as a registered charitable trust in 1995, Sutradhar is a resource centre committed to improving the quality of education for children. It focusses particularly on the use of media in education. `Media' in this case translates to toys, games, teaching aids, stories and other arts that mediate learning.

Sutradhar is a storehouse of toys, games and puzzles from all over India. Made by craftspersons, all the toys are made of natural, non-toxic, eco-friendly material such as wood, jute, cloth and palm leaf. More than 130 crafts groups supply the toys to Sutradhar from different states in India. The toys are modified according to needs or changed for better aesthetics.

The organisation grew out of a need to respond to the lack of innovative educational material on the one hand, and the wealth of such material that lie scattered across the country, on the other hand. That is how the outlet for toys came to be established in the city.

Its resources now include a wide range of educational toys and books for children, teachers’ resources, traditional games and folk toys and an “Early learning kit” for 3-6 year olds.

Sutradhar is supported by CRY – Child Relief and You, Amar Foundation, The Ashoka Foundation and CONCERN India Foundation. Started by Mandira Kumar, a Fellow of The Ashoka Foundation’s ‘Innovators for the Public’ programme set up to recognise social entrepreneurship, the organisation is now six years old. She began Sutradhar in 1996 and today feels that the corporate world has responded best to education. This, she says, is because of its increasing engagement with media such as newspapers that in turn write about education. “The market for pre-school and school education is increasing.  Parental buying of toys - as of Chinese and Taiwanese make, is also on the rise,” she says.

Talking about her interaction with craft groups all over India, she explains, "Some groups are more while others are less professional. That is what we have found, after working for six years with them. They differ in terms of quality, delivery schedules and in adopting new designs – in moving from design to prototype to market. Some are open and dynamic and we tend to work with them."

On ideas for Sutradhar, Mandira says, "I am open to people's suggestions. I value their contribution. Ideas are welcome from anywhere. Our work involves producers and designers - all our activities are meshed together."

Sutradhar's 'Early learning kits' for 3-6 year olds have been accepted by the government. About 1,000 such kits have been supplied for preschool anganwadis, balwadis. Mandira says, "it is our conceptual contribution."

About producing on a large scale, Mandira says, "Yes, the toys can be delivered depending upon the group that makes the product. Some groups are very professional, they can make large numbers of products that are more or less uniform while with other groups, this is not so. For mass products, some level of standardisation is needed. For us, that means about 50 in number."

“The scenario of toys for children is rapidly changing and we have to keep watching and changing our role,” Mandira says. “We have to move with the times. Which is why we are now working on an electronic catalogue for our toys.”

Talking about sales, she says, “We need to market more aggressively. Marketing toys is only part of our work. We do not have an independent cell for marketing. In the long term, yes, we foresee greater weightage to design and marketing. We have also to create awareness and education, especially as we are registered as a charitable trust. We have to do both these activities equally well – that is, marketing and bringing about an awareness of our role.”

“It is with this objective in mind that next year, we intend to establish tie-ups with other groups and like-minded organisations in places such as Mumbai and even Bangalore. In fact, some of our products are already displayed in some cities.”

In the future, Sutradhar will be exploring all avenues to widen its reach, through tie-ups and Web marketing. She says, "We want to use our existing range for a wider customer … we do not want to create wants, we want to respond to needs – so we do not have a 'new summer collection' on offer."

Mandira believes the Web certainly helps in building awareness of Sutradhar. "We email so many people. That is how we communicate with craft groups, funding agencies, buyers and government agencies." Perhaps the Web does 'hold the strings' in a larger role for Sutradhar.

Sutradhar's annual exhibition is on at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore from July 13 - 15 2001.