Gung Ho- Navarathri Golu!

“Hi Usha, it’s the Navarathri season again, and I can never forget the golu at your home years ago, so much fun it used to be; “ said a friend of mine earlier this week.  I was reminded  of the lovely times we used to have back in our school days. Of course we had our holidays, and that was great reason to feel happy and the other was house-hopping, to see the ‘golu’ arrangement in various homes of both relatives and neighbours. As back-presents we used to carry home, a small packet of ‘sundal’ or a set of bangles or may be just the traditonal‘vethilai pakku’ (containing a couple of beetel leaves with some beetel nuts) with a banana or two. Whatever we got from different homes were special to us and used to safely deposit them back home or just eat them up on our way back. We were asked to sing a song or two which was a form of worship in itself. As kids we did not have any problem at all doing so and were just inhibitionless. Even the ‘golu’ back then used to be very simple yet high in tradition and culture. At no point did we ever miss out on getting our daily dose of culture and tradition, thanks to the grandparents at home. The dolls would vary from the dasavatharam set, to the chettiar dolls (the traditional businessmen), wooden dolls(marapachi), and of course the likes of Ganesha, Krishna, and some members of the divine fraternity. As an additional entertainer for kids, we used to have a small make-shift park set up on the floor onto the sides of the golu padi(stand). This park was easily made with some sand and sprouts, the latter added to the greenery of the artificial park! We would have a cow in plastic grazing on this newly ‘sprouted’ field; paying tribute to the cattle and agriculture since the dolls are primarily made of clay, so the demand for clay was on the rise during this time. Our golu used to be simple and most of the houses we visited were just variations within this ambit, perhaps with a few dolls extra or lesser albeit, times were still simple.

Things have changed quite drastically these days though; the basics of culture and tradition is still intact in terms of the types of dolls featuring in the golu stands of various homes. We still have the classic chettiar dolls and the humble marapachi dolls and the likes of Ganesha and Krishna and the entire divine fraternity. Nonetheless, golu has come to exist more as a show of tradition rather than tradition and culture being upheld. Back then, we only used to safely wrap these dolls in some unused muslin or sari to prevent breakage and safely put them in the attic so that they could be used for the next year; occassionally, a few dolls got added over the years. Not once did we get bored with the collection, we were only proud of our inventory of dolls and used to eagerly await their display on our golu stand for the year.

With changing times of course, as in every other field, we have new dolls entering the display market each year. The North Mada street in Mylapore stands testimony to this. Come Navarathri, this street in particular becomes a hub of Gods and Godesses on sale! It is definitely worth paying a visit to this street during this time of the year, if not to buy, at least to visually treat youurself with an array of dolls throughout the entire stretch. Dolls though are expensive unlike before, of course due ot the rise in public demand. Golu has become more of a showbiz and perpetuates competition amongst households. The old world charm is lost, with Shiva or Krishna assuming newer looks. The colours used are quite dashing too as against their counterparts of the past. With golu no longer being restricted to a few odd-numbered steps, the variety is diverse and we even have thematic representations of the Gods and Godesses. Eg., One household may have an exclusive Ganesha theme or Krishna theme, et al. Of course, when these dolls have become slightly richer, the takeways we get have assumed a new status too. Gone are the days of humble packets of sundal and banana. They are now one among the many back-presents that we could add to our kitty. It has become more of a social status these days to flaunt these dolls on display and to give away expensive gifts to the visitors. What one fails to understand though is, regardless of countless designs and models of the Gods and Godesses, the Navarathri Golu season is more of a bonhomie of sorts rather than a mere display of clay and colours.