Gurgaon home dolls up for festivities

  • | Thursday | 18th October, 2018

"My wife loves adding new dolls to our kolu collection, (and) symmetry is given a lot of attention. "We will set up more grandly - there are many more boxes with dolls, left unopened!" "Before they shifted to Gurugram, the family would present these dolls in Chennai every year. These idols and dolls are set up in an 11-tier (or any odd number) arrangement, depicting mythological tales and village life in India's south.Ramachandran, 83, is a retired official, who along with his wife has painstakingly collected these dolls for 38 years. That means each piece is one rupee - now you won't even get peanuts for one rupee!"

GURUGRAM: As the city revels in the festive spirit of Navratri and Durga Puja, a house in Gurugram has been all dolled up with over 500 clay figurines of gods and goddesses to mark Bommai Kolu, or Golu.The festival of Bommai Kolu is celebrated amongst Telugus, Tamils and Kannadigas. These idols and dolls are set up in an 11-tier (or any odd number) arrangement, depicting mythological tales and village life in India's south.Ramachandran, 83, is a retired official, who along with his wife has painstakingly collected these dolls for 38 years. "Back then, the entire set was priced for not more than a few rupees and paise. That means each piece is one rupee - now you won't even get peanuts for one rupee!" he said."My wife loves adding new dolls to our kolu collection, (and) symmetry is given a lot of attention."Before they shifted to Gurugram, the family would present these dolls in Chennai every year. The display is impressive, and exhaustive, with depictions of Mahavishnu, of Garuda carrying Utsav Murti, of Balaji at Tirupati Balaji temple, and Vaishnavite dolls chanting the Vedas and accompanying a procession.The significance of the festival is evident from the number of people - friends, neighbours, children - visiting the house to admire the arrangement. For the kids, it's an opportunity to learn about the past. "We narrate the mythological tales to children in this form so that they know about culture and traditions - they are more interested in this way," adds Rajeev, an astrologer (and Ramachandran's son-in-law).There are also scenes from the village - the birth of a child, a marriage, a wedding feast, and a 60th birthday. "The 60th birthday is celebrated with much fanfare in south India," reveals Rajeev. Meanwhile, wooden Marapachi dolls, sitting next to Lakshmi and Vishnu, symbolise fertility; in certain communities, they are given as a wedding gift to newlyweds.And for next year, there are surprises in store. "We will set up more grandly - there are many more boxes with dolls, left unopened!" says Ramachandran, proudly.

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