toys for Sikh children

a friend and i were brainstorming about this... many of us have tied keskees on baby dolls for kids, but what if there were a dedicated sikh oriented toy company? what would YOU want to see?

some of my ideas...

singh and singhnee soft body dolls for very young children
khalsa action figures (singh and singhnee both), with swords, bow and arrow, and horses they can ride. maybe additional sets, like "camp" with tents and such. or "qila" with a big fort they can defend.
"dress up" clothes for little kids including bana, play kirpaan, etc... yes, in jatha most young kids wear bana with real kakkars to samagams, but i'd say MOST sikh children don't get this chance. i think it would inspire them to take amrit when they get older.
coloring books of sikh history and sakhis.
"my first gatka" kit. with kid sized (plastic!) shastars.
a punjabi farm set, with singhs who plough the field and singhnees making lassi. kids have to learn the old implements and such so they'll understand the metaphors in gurbani better.
kids langar hall set- with tava, sarabloh pots for daal, etc. they can do seva of all of their toys.
larger plastic dolls of famous historic gursikhs... mata bhag kaur ji with her horse and shastars, baba deep singh ji with his khanda and chakars and detachable head!
maybe some dolls that recite mool mantar or waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh! when you press a button...

thoughts? additions? do you think it's possible? or would there be enough interest?

Excellent topic!

Sure there would be interest. There is a huge Sikh diaspora that would love to give their children Sikh values through toys.

As for more suggestions, Bhain jeeo, you have covered up pretty much everything. Perhaps an electronic game that has popular shabads for kids. A play Vaaja with some automatic popular Shabad tunes would be another good choice for a Sikh toy.

Kulbir Singh

Good idea by Bhein Ji. The toy making companies will be interested in the demand of their products, only. So, if a distributor is ready to purchase and sell the products; the manufacturers in China are always ready for profits.

thanks for the positive responses. i will register internet domains and start research on this immediately.


looking forward to more input from the sangat!

one more idea... these dolls will be represented in every skin tone, eye color, etc. i have seen that most of the children's movies about khalsa involve extremely light skinned characters... in the recent film. sundri was shown as having blue eyes. why? sikhs come in every color, every background, etc. we are one nation, khalsa, and i want every sikh child to be able to feel that they're normal, that they fit in.

-inspired by bhai rama singh ji's vision of a multi-ethnic khalsa raj.

Waheguru ji ka khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh

Bibi jio Daas respect your thought and hope that may happen one day but for now do not want to discourage you just wanted to let you know it is the "The most difficult" business you are talking about. I do not want to mention my job because that just adds to hoamy but tell you from my experience with this field working with world's best toy brands Barbie and Fisherprice, better not to divert your resources to this field. It will be waste of time and energy. There are many reasons which I can not explained here including infrastructure, productivity, technical resources, marketing, retail and top of that is finance. Think about this who will finance to produce religious figure toy?
The other big reason is a consumer. How many of people are out there who has same thinking as you, Bhai Kulbir SinghJee and Bhai MB Singh to spend money on buying expensive Sikh toy figure? Think this way Bhai Sukhwinder Singh of Vismaad produced four movies with very same intent but see the buyers they do not want to spend 10 buck on original dvd but rather buy pirated 5 buck dvd or even cheaper vcd. If you have buyers of that mindset how you will survive. I do not want to scare you by writing more and more problem but as I said due to daas's experience I do not want my brothers and sisters chose that road which later shows dead end. I hope you will understand. By the way I am writing this will on the run so no grammar check and spell check is done and I did this because you mentioned to register something for this. Again my suggestion would be to use that resource for some other cause for khalsa panth.

With Regards,
Daas

I think it would be a good idea to have an Interactive CD where there are children stories and during parts of the story there is kirtan in between. For example, an children Sakhi about Guru Sahibs shaheedi and in that scene play Shabad of Teyraa Kita Meetha lageh. It can be a short animated chapter. Or it can just be colored pictures with words and kirtan in the background. If put on the internet most people will have free access to it and anybody can volunteer to do drawing, narration, or sound seva.

I really dont think making toys are necessary. Toys teach children to be superficial and self-centered.

jasjit singh veerjee... i was thinking very limited production, but i really do appreciate the reality check.

sukhdeep singh veerjee... i don't think all toys are bad. besides, kids are kids. they will demand toys or get them as gifts, especially when they see them at their friends' and relatives houses. we cannot isolate our children completely. i'd rather they have toys that teach them something, and that look like them, instead of fashion dolls or wrestling action figures.
maybe i'll just modify my own children's toys so they're better role models.
i honestly think some toys (building sets, etc) enhance motor skills, increase spacial and geometrical understanding, etc. dolls/action figures, especially when played with in groups, can teach social interaction. like television, or games, it's all in how they're used. we can use these tools for education without letting it get out of hand.

The idea is meaningful. I see my ten year daughter, playing for many hours if alone, with Barbie doll. She combs bathes her, combs her hair again and again and dresses her up. The toy girl is certainly part of her imagination. The idea of Bhein Ji is to replace that model with sikh model, if possible.

People do like boy or girl sikh pictures, dressed in Gursikhi bana, in their drawing rooms. I remember, how much popularity the picture of a sikh girl with Dastaar, has received world wide, in the last about twenty years. A high quality gursikhi bana doll or little singh or kaur on horse, will certainly look attractive to every sikh family and they will like to have it for their show case. Even non-sikhs, visiting Harminder Sahib, are seen purchasing some items or pictures of sikh faith to make their visit memorable. A singh or a kaur on horse with pretty weapons, has potential to decorate thousands of sikh or non sikh houses. Those scenes have become part of our history and it will be worthwhile to reproduce them. I am not very sure about the commercial success of other ideas listed by Bhein Ji, but at least a Kaur or Singh on Horse, will hopefully be a sure shot. In India, every body stands still to have a look on 3HO sikh boys and girls.

Perhaps there is no harm if toys are used for educational purposes. BUt personally I think a vaja, daballa,etc are the best toys to give to children. All children love musical instruments.

I also think legos that make Harmandir Sahib and other historical Gurdwaras would be a nice way to teach Sikhi.

Great idea. Just one thought. I dont think baba deep singj ji's detached head is a good idea. There is a danger od beadbi.

For the same reason I suggest that no figurines of real historical Sikh person alities should be created.

Bhenji, I have thought about this many times and even discussed with Gurinder Singh veerji regarding the electronic tool like LeapFrog but the cost for small quantity is significantly higher and people expect sikhi related things for free. I have a few books and games and selling my books and games at cost ($1 for the best quality printing, $2 puzzles and $3 memory match game), some people comments about gurmat things should be free and why am I charging money. It is also impossible to find volunteers to sell.