CHENNAI: The nine-day festival of Navratri is incomplete without golu dolls, sundal and Carnatic music. The exhibition hall at Anna Teresa Magalir Valagam offers the perfect festive sight — golu dolls neatly stacked on nine steps, Lord Vishnu’s dasavataram, Lord Muruga’s six avatars, sorga vasal (gateway to heaven) are hard to miss. There are also golu dolls, which signify the importance of marriage, baby shower and religious processions.
In a sea of paper mache and clay dolls, cloth dolls caught our attention. “We’ve been crafting cloth dolls for seven years. It takes about a week to make five dolls. The head is made of paper mache while the body is stuffed with cotton. Strings are used to connect body parts to make them flexible for movements. Then, measurements are taken for stitching clothes. They are lightweight, hard-built due to several layers of cotton, and remain in good condition for years. The dolls are available in 12- and 20-inch height,” says Revathy from Cuddalore. Her display of dolls includes a Kathakali dancer, bridal and maharani dolls, and Lord Murugan with Valli and Deivanai.
Making golu dolls are a family business for most vendors here. Suganya from Kanchipuram is the fourth-generation seller. “There’s a trending doll every season. This year, it is the nine forms of Narasimha. Though paper mache dolls are easier to export and have fewer chances of getting damaged, traditional clay dolls never go out of demand. While most people donate old dolls to temples, Brahmins and those in south Indian households stick to the idea of getting them repaired and painted. The dolls are passed on by ancestors and are considered to be sacred. However, the number of people who repaint has considerably decreased over the years,” she explained.
Geeta Palani from Thiruvannamalai is among the few in the business of repainting old dolls. Her family has been into golu-making and repainting business for 30 years now. “Considering the amount of effort we put into making one doll, the price paid is less. We charge depending on the size of the doll. My husband and son do the repainting work. Either way, we need to find our livelihood by making or fixing,” she says.
We’re told that Kosapet used to be the place where golu dolls where manufactured traditionally. Slowly, the business spread across Mylapore, T Nagar and Purasaiwalkam. Nalini has been making dolls in her home at Purasaiwalkam.
“My ancestors worked at Poompuhar crafts store. We don’t have a resource to open a store, so exhibitions are a big opportunity. We take orders and replicate them,” says Nalini.
A month-long exhibition
The exhibition also had stalls selling organic flours and snacks, herbal oils, temple jewellery, ethnic clothing, showpieces made of korai, and vetiver scrubs. The exhibition, inaugurated on Monday by P Benjamin, Minister for Rural Industries Rural Industries including Cottage Industries and Small I Industries, will go on for a month.