by Jaishree Viswanathan
Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival spanning over nine (Nava) nights (Ratri). It is celebrated across India in different ways such as Garba in Gujarat or Durga Puja in West Bengal. Tamil Nadu has a unique way of celebration with Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Durga goddesses as the focus and also celebrating the win of good over evil. It is celebrated as a Nine days dolls festival, also called as “Bommai Golu”. (Bommai means doll in Tamil) These dolls include gods, goddesses, animals, birds and rural life all in a miniature design. People set up their own creative themes for display which may vary from a village scene, woman empowerment or even Olympics. The Golu display is done on steps which are to be in odd numbers and ranges from 3 steps to even 11 at times. Friends and families invite each other to visit their homes to view the Golu displays.
Many of these dolls are passed on from one generation to the other. Prasad is offered to the God and the visitors everyday along with “Manjal Kumkum” (Haldi Kumkum). People gather together and sing bhajans and the home atmosphere is very festive and spiritual for these ten days.
Books and other items of education like ghungroo for those who learn dance or the music instrument for those learning it, is kept in front of the golu and Saraswati Puja is done on the ninth day. On Vijaydashami day, these books are taken out and the children sit and read a few lines from the books. Vijaydashami day is also significant for the initiation of education, known as Vidyarambham. The god idols are symbolically made to sleep on the tenth day and later packed and kept aside to be brought out the next year.
I have been keeping Golu for the past many years and my family, especially my children, enthusiastically participate in the festivities. This is a family tradition that I have tried to carry forward as my parents who stayed in the C4 block used to keep Golu and invite the whole neighbourhood then. Those years made precious memories for me and I still look forward to the celebration each year.
