The Bobble Head and The Great Indian Head Wobble Connection

For decades foreign travelers in India have been faced with a vital question that no one has been able to explain. No it is not “whether this food will bring a painful round of Delhi belly or not “. Nor is it “what do the ridiculously in-comprehensive announcements in our platforms and bus stands ever mean”!

For the hapless white folks used to the simple up and down nod of the head meaning “yes” and the sideways shake of the head meaning “no”, the one mystery no mystic on India seems to be able to answer is the great Indian head wobble. The sideways motion of the head usually coupled with a goofy grin confounds the firangis to no end. What is it that the wobble means? Yes? No? Maybe?

The Indian head wobble has been immortalized in countless blog posts and journals by amateur travelers and established travel writers alike, some describing it as a vital skill to pick up while in India and others going as far as categorizing it in different ways in order to explain which wobble means “yes”, which one signifies “no” and which one says “I really like you" ...!

What they should do is remember one iconic item from the great and weird cultural melting pot of American consumerism- the bobble head. A small doll with an impossibly large head which is prone to furious and completely pointless wobbling at the slightest of taps, the bobble head is a popular toy and collectible in the USA where it is sold in the likeness of almost every major global celebrity.

From Michael Jackson doing his moon walk to General George Patton wearing his iconic four starred helmet, there is a bobble head for almost everyone in the market, including the discerning buyer himself, as getting a custom bobble head in your likeness is becoming a popular choice.

In the land where the wobbly head of the dolls have been around for centuries in the form of the iconic Indian expression designed solely to mess with a foreigner who asks a local a question, the bobble head as a toy has been around only as the classical Tanjavur doll(Remember the mitti ka lady we bought home for Diwali? )- the dancing lady whose head and waist rotate in an imitation of classical dance moves. Modern bobble heads on the lines of what has been an insanely popular toy abroad has been conspicuously absent from the market.

India Bobbles brings a new and completely desi range of bobble-heads based on the iconic design combined with personalities who have a larger than life presence in the Indian psyche. Starting with none other than the Father of the Nation-complete with his lathi, round spectacles and blissful expression. India Bobbles aims to fill the shelf in your house, your study corner, your work station or the dashboard of your car with delightful, nodding dolls smiling and wobbling with you all the time, confusing every foreigner coming your way even more! 111

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