And another Dussehra /Navratri Golu ends

My favourite festival is the Navratri Golu or Dussehra and its the time that I am the most sociable and don the role of a hostess. The last ten days have been the busiest phase and I have had friends and family visit me virtually everyday. It started with me walking down North Mada Street in Mylapore, Madras (Chennai) with my mother for a couple of hours and picking up seven bags of golu bommais or dolls from all over the country.


The theme was Krishna and I had collected almost ten stories of Krishna – from his childhood Leela to the Mahabharatha.

These are some of the stories from my Krishna collection

Kalingavadanam – Krishna defeating the poisonous snake Kalinga that was spreading venom in the Yamuna. Running away from Garuda, Kalinga made Vrindavan his home, knowing only too well that Garuda could not come here. Krishna jumped into the river while playing and the huge snake wrapped itself around his body. He immediately subdued the snake by dancing on its head, crushing it with his weight. The snake, recognising the power of Krishna agreed to leave to its original home, Ramanaka Dwipa, which some people refer to as Fiji .

Govardhanagiri – The symbolic lifting of the Govardhan Giri or hillock by Krishna refers to his defeating the ego and wrath of Indra, the King of the Devas and the Lord of rains . Krishna requested the villagers to stop special rituals for Indra who in turn flooded the entire village. Krishna lifted the mountain with his little finger, protecting the entire village from the rains.

Ural Krishna – Yashoda , angry with Krishna tied him up to a grinding stone . The boy effortlessly dragged himself towards the trees in the courtyard , while the grindstone gets stuck in the gap between two trees. He strikes down the trees and releases Nalakubera and Manigreeva, the sons of Kubera who were cursed by Narada.

Andaal singing Thiruppavai – Andaal or Kodhai as she was called was so devoted to Lord Vishnu that she wanted to marry him. She offered garlands to the Lord only after wearing it first herself to see if it was suitable for him. In her fifteen years of life, Andaal composed the Thiruppavai in praise of Krishna , where she picturises herself as a Gopika.

The collection further increased with a gift from my mother – a beautiful idol of Sringeri Sharada and I picked up a Durga idol from Mysore, besides a few more dolls from Malleswaram in Bangalore.

The golu will be dismantled tomorrow and all the dolls will be packed for next year. As per tradition, one of them is already lying asleep, signifying the end of the festival.

For details on Golu, you can read my previous blog post, Come Home to my Golu and my article in Yahoo . I also made a quick visit to Mysore and here is my diary portrayed in vignettes. I leave you with a video of a concert in Mysore, during the Dussehra festivities.

A concert in Mysore

Come home and see my Golu

The divine court of Goddess Durga is going to be held in my house for the next nine days . I am celebrating Navaratri or Dassera as it is probably better known as. The slaying of Mahishasura by Durga is celebrated over the nine days. While most of India celebrates the Durga Puja in Bengali style, in South India - mainly in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, women celebrate Golu or Kolu as in Tamil Nadu or Gombei Habba as it is called in Karnataka . If anyone knows what it is called in Andhra Pradesh , please let me know.



Dolls or Bommai (Bombei)are arranged in steps (usually odd numbers) and they are artistic creations of Hindu Gods and Goddesses and their stories.To me , it is more of a connection with my childhood where I got mesmerised by Hindu mythology and legends . I grew up creating parks and zoos with my cousins while the elders arranged the dolls and hence the fondness for this festival. I keep Golu every year and colourful clay and wooden figurines of Gods and Goddesses jostle for space with mortals as Ram and Krishna are displayed along with cobblers and snake charmers.

Last year was my first Golu in Bangalore and I had posted some pictures as well. This year, my collection has expanded from wooden Panruti and Marapachi dolls to "Bommais" from Kanchipuram, Panruti , Cuddalore and Madras to a few Bengali dolls and some that I purchased off the streets in Bangalore. I do not have enough to create a theme, but I have a row dedicated to Krishna which has glimpses of his life - Vasudeva carrying the baby Krishna secretly in storm under the protection of Adiseshan, the child Krishna dancing on the snake Kalingan, relishing butter with foster mother Yashoda , to dancing with Gopikas , killing his wicked uncle, Kamsa and posing with his wives, Rukmini and Satyabhama . There is also Krishna as Parthasarthy , the charioteer of Arjuna in the Mahabharat war.


My first two rows are filled with Vishnu and his Dasavatharam and forms of the God in Ananthasayana pose with Brahma emerging from his navel to Hayagriva and Rama with his consort Seetha along with Lakshmanan and Hanuman. The Goddesses, Lakshmi , Saraswati, Durgai and Meenakshi are there to grace the Golu and the latter's wedding to Sundaresan or Shiva (where the Madurai temple is famous for) is celebrated grandly in my house. There is also Shiva learning the meaning of Om from his son and guru , Murugan which is one of my recent collection.


Most of the dolls are new, some are given to me by my mother and a few by my mother in law as well. In our culture, Navratri Bommais are usually handed down by the mothers to their daughters and it carries on as a family heirloom. The Gods give way to mortals as lives of common men and women are juxtaposed with a rich Kuberan and his wife.


The nine days are usually filled with visitors who come home , eat "sundal ", sing songs, comment on the collection and go home.Those who keep "kalasa" do puja every day and celebrate it in all religious zeal. To me however, I am more into the art and the cultural aspect of the festival and helps me connect with my roots..

Besides sundal and a few sweets or snacks, Navratri is unlike most Hindu festivals where food takes priority over anything. At least for me..so sorry if you are expecting a feast though.However the important thing that I meticulously plan is a gift for every guest (sorry -only women ) and I spend hours combing through the streets to buy something that represents the festive spirit. Usually it is my mother and my husband who are at the receiving end in this activity and this year also, I have something interesting..I hope the guests like it :)



So, do join me in the celebration and come home for Golu ! You could get one too !!

By the way, this post moves away from travel towards culture and festivals which I believe is a part of a traveller's life as well. In this case, it may be personal, but I will be veering more towards such subjects as well