Golu - a doll’s house in every home

Kaushik is a very busy man. He is attending to at least six customers who are peering over the modest collection of clay dolls that he has brought all the way from Bengal. There is no power in North Mada Street in Chennai’s Mylapore area, but that does not deter the truckloads of people from buying these colourful dolls or golu bommais as they are called in Tamil. The entire street has turned into a mini exhibition as each vendor displays his ware.

These are stories from Indian mythology, from the epics, from the lives of gods and goddesses.  The deities are getting married, or waging war. Kaushik speaks to me in Hindi and then he switches to colloquial Tamil, and barks orders in Bengali to his boys to pack the dolls in a carton. I ask him why he is in Chennai at the time of Durga Puja and he says that Navratri is the time to be in the south, what with all the sales and exhibitions going on. He is a craftsman himself, but prefers to be called a businessman. He has rented part of an existing shop and uses their credit-card machinery. His Tamil is rather fluent as he rattles out places in Chennai and Bangalore where he has supplied his crafts.

I move on with four cartons of dolls made of clay. It is a Krishna theme this year and I have just picked up some miniatures. My fascination with Golu started when I was a child, when I looked at the dolls as a way of story – of telling through art. They transported me into a land of legends and myths, where Rama would go boating with Guhan or Krishna would kill Kamsa. I grew up creating parks and zoos and village scenes, while the elders would arrange the dolls. Today, as I celebrate the festival, it is my way of connecting back to my childhood when my fascination with Indian mythology started.

The clay dolls from Panrupti and Pondicherry were always held in high esteem as you could order stories and legends of your choice.  A craftsman from Panrupti had 45 dolls for sale that narrated stories from the Ramayana. He said he started working on them as early as March. Another vendor told me that he would camp in Panrupti for at least a month to decide what stories he wanted to create.

Navratri is celebrated across the country under different names. Dussehra, Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Vijayadashami or Golu,  the essence of the festival is the same – the victory of good over evil. In the north it is Ram Leela where the effigies of Ravana are burned, while in the south Chamundeshwari or Durga slays the demon Mahishasura. The subcontinent is buoyant with a festive spirit and there are processions, dandiya dances, music and arts exhibitions.

A typical Golu tableau. Photo: Lakshmi SharathThis year, Navratri began on October 16. The divine court of the Goddess Durga visits my house as I keep the golu. The wooden and clay figurines of deities jostle for space with cobblers and snake charmers. I try to seek legends that are relatively rare. There is, for instance, the story of Brahma emerging from the navel of Vishnu, or Andal singing the Thirupaavai in praise of Krishna. At the death bed of Bhishma, the five Pandavas pay respect to the grandsire with Krishna while the Vishnusahasranama is narrated. There are also light-hearted legends, such as one of the sage Narada instigating a fight between Rukmini and Satyabhama, the consorts of Krishna, to a more serious story of Shiva learning the meaning of Om from his son Murugan or Kartikeya. In another stand, the marriage of Sundaresar (Shiva) and Meenakshi (Parvati) is celebrated with great fanfare with all the gods and goddesses in attendance.

The Indianness of the festival moves beyond deities and demons as artists celebrate various facets of Indian culture through art. So, we have scenes from villages, musicians performing,  soldiers fighting battles, and couples from various communities. Every golu will have at least two regulars – Kuberan, the god of wealth, being offered fruits  and grains; and the quintessential Thanjavur dolls nodding their heads. The great Indian wedding finds its place here and, as I move on with more curios and gifts, I overhear a lady exclaiming to a shopkeeper, “ This cricket set is too expensive." Pat comes the reply: “Amma, this is a match between India and Pakistan.“

The rains start rumbling in, but business is as usual. The festive season has begun.