CHENNAI: Around this time every year, T Anandakumar’s house in Mayiladuthurai brims with dolls of all colours, shapes and sizes — the result of a year’s painstaking work that is now ready for display.
The family of five is usually up by 5 am, throwing their doors open to customers coming from far and near.
Their house turns a museum of sorts for almost two months, with the family entertaining friends and strangers alike and helping them find the right dolls for their golu experience.
This time around, the doors remain open but little else has gone according to plan. For a populace used to beginning their festival season in the month of Aadi, that the pandemic has turned all plans futile is an understatement.
As much as it has affected the economic stability of people across the board, it is the artisans who are particularly feeling the pinch with the loss of the festive business.
For the doll-makers and sellers, the stage was set for dismal sales even with Vinayaka Chaturthi; with Durga Puja and golu round the corner, there’s little reason to believe things will look up soon.
In pre-pandemic times, Bommai Chathram in Chennai’s Triplicane would have been bustling with buyers too. Now, it’s one bad news after another.
“No one is coming out to purchase. This year, the special orders have been few, production is limited and sales is uncertain,” rues N Ramachandran, who runs the business, summing up the sentiment for the season.
Work stalled
Every year, golu doll-makers begin work for next year’s festival on the day of Ayutha Puja (Saraswathi Puja) itself.
“The time between September/October and January is when we start on designs, look for clay soil and begin making moulds and dolls. This year, we consciously reduced our production by February,” says Saravana Kumar, proprietor of Rajavalli Sanmugam Arts in Coimbatore.
A third-generation artisan, he has never seen such a dull phase in all his years in the business. S Senthil of Balaji Art Works in Puducherry concurs.
“After Pongal, we start painting the dolls. By April, we start exporting to other countries. By June, we focus on dolls for local production. This year, by March-end, we stopped production,” he says. Anandakumar’s export prospects dried up too.
“Usually, we send the dolls for families who stay abroad and still follow the tradition of keeping the golu. March to June is peak export time and those were the months of lockdown. It’s only in the past two months that we were able to resume our business and start sending out the orders,” he points out.
Saravana says that it takes six months to complete painting all the dolls. With lockdown in place during the months that are crucial for work, the artisans had no choice but to suspend work.
“We did not have the paint, hence, we could not get our job done. The dolls were readied before the lockdown, but at least half of them sit colourless now,” he rues.
His family of eight kept themselves busy during the lockdown by painting the few dolls they could with whatever paint was available. This, naturally, forced them to introduce only a few new themes in the market. At Saravana’s workshop, customers can find Kamalambal, Ramar Saranagathi set and Dasavatharam stories.
“We haven’t even had 25 per cent of the sales. It is also because the festival is coming quite late this year. I hope that this month, customers will start coming in,” he says.
The unsold, unpainted dolls, he says, will have to come back in stands next year.
“We will make it look like new ones,” he assures.
Chipping in about the setback, Anandakumar says, “We did not work for 65 days…in our world, it is a big number that will lead to huge losses. We wanted to make 75 new themes this year. We have managed only a few and most of them are half-done."
"This is something that has never happened. We didn’t have enough money to buy paint nor were there shops open to buy paints and work at home.” This is the first time Senthil, who works alongside his father A Shekar, has seen the sales drop. He spends all day waiting for vendors to turn up and collect their goods.
“We have advised them to take only what they need. If the unsold dolls are with us, we can pack them properly, repaint and bring it back for sales next year. Also, many customers we supply to have not placed orders. Those who have placed their orders and paid us the advance have asked us to provide dolls equivalent to just that amount,” he says, adding that their customers from Chennai are yet to visit to start their golu purchase.
Many artisans in Puducherry, he says, have shut shop and decided to move out of the business of dollmaking. Similar to Senthil’s plight is G GunaSundari’s.
Tucked away in Velachery, her house doubles up as her workshop where her family has been making papier mache dolls for almost four decades.
This year, they have reduced their production to less than half their usual volume.
“We were not sure if we will be allowed to put up a stall, or if there will even be golu doll exhibitions. But, thankfully, they have been organised and I have set up a stall in Kuralagam. Business is bleak, I just want to sell the few dolls that we have made,” she worries.
As you move down the map of Tamil Nadu, you will find fates hanging in the balance even in other districts.
In Tiruchy, for the thousands of golu artisans in Kondayampettai near Thiruvanaikoil, work has been slower than usual.
Due to the deadly combination of lockdown and fear of the virus, artisans did not report to work for a while.
Chinnadurai, who runs a workshop that employs 50 people, says that his schedule has gone for a toss this year.
“Usually, by this time, we would have finished our work completely. This year, we have just started making the new golu dolls."
"It will take us at least a week to get the new dolls and sets ready. My employees were afraid to come; we all were afraid. We didn’t want to risk getting infected,” he says.
They may be staring at losses and listening to a muffled festive cheer, but work — what little that has come their way — has helped them forget their worries.
Thangavelu, who has been a golu artisan for 20 years, says that this is the first time that they have worked amid uncertainty.
“Making these dolls is my passion. As I stay in Pudukkottai, I was unable to come to work during the lockdown. Many artisans here faced the same issue. Now, since we have less time, we are working hard and thinking of new ideas. All products are usually out on the market by now,” he says.
Reduced workforce
While most artisans work along with their family members, they employ a few others to quicken their pace. This year, they have either had to let go of their employees, or have had to reduce the number of workers.
“Papier-mache doll-making is labour-intensive. We often call in a few people to make the moulds for us and also help us with the other processes. This year, it has just been us family members, who have done everything,” says Sundari.
Meanwhile, in Madurai’s Vilachery, S Ramalingam of Kalpana Arts made arrangements for his workers to take home the mould and the soil to make dolls during the lockdown.
“When it was advised that we cannot crowd workspaces and that we had to reduce the workforce, we came up with this idea instead. This way, our work is done and our labourers have some job on hand as well,” he shares.
Workers at Anandakumar’s workshop have also gone back home but there are no signs of their return. The burden then falls on the family.
Reminiscing the past
Anandakumar’s family has been making dolls for the past 115 years. Never have they witnessed such a slump.
“Ask anyone here for Murugesan golu bommai and people will point you to our house,” he says. The dolls made in this district are called Mayuram dolls and find a special place in several golu padis across Tamil households. If there is one thing that Anandakumar and family have never done, it is tell ‘no’ to their customers. They always ensured that there was enough stock (especially of the new dolls) for everyone. But, the coronavirus has forced them to utter the word."
For the past one month, they have been receiving customers at their house but have only had half-finished dolls to present to them.
“These are all handmade; so we can’t quicken the process. We can’t do anything but take it slow. We have to disappoint the customers and turn them away,” he admits.
Doll-makers often get ideas for new themes from customers.
In pre-pandemic times, the months of April and May were when customers used to come to Anandakumar’s house unannounced to discuss their plans for the golu, ask for specific themes and place orders.
This year, there was no one. The months that used to be busy for Anandakumar’s family, when days were spent making moulds, were lived through in uncertainty and worry.
Since this is a seasonal business, the sales of this year are important to help them begin next year’s cycle. Even when things look bleak for this process, they are not about to give up, it seems.
“We will not give up the tradition and will start modelling new dolls this Saraswathi Puja. This year has been bad but we hope that next year will be good,” he says.
Tech to the rescue
Ramalingam reports that hope is still high in the village of Vilachery. What was once a potter’s paradise has become a doll hub in recent years. Of the population of 8,000, around 250 are doll-makers.
Living in the narrow lanes and small streets, they look forward to the months leading to golu. Despite this year’s setback, they seem better prepared.
“The first big festival for us every year i s Vinayaka Chaturthi.When the lockdown was announced, we decided that we will be making only smaller idols. All the doll-makers made profits. This gave us hope for the golu season,” he opens up.
While they have not had their usual customers from Chennai, Karnataka and Kerala, their sales to Australia have been great.
“Our sales happen from August to November. We make dolls for the rest of the year. We slowed down work by February. But, since we had given the moulds to some makers, we could keep up with the production. Once the relaxations came in, our paint suppliers reached out to us and provided all that we needed,” he says.
Dolls are sold in Vilachery all year long. People who come to Madurai from other cities often visit the doll-makers’ house to make the purchase.
This year, Ramalingam and his ilk made a database of all their customers to be able to reach out to them on WhatsApp groups and keep them posted about the new dolls this season.
“We involved women to administer the groups. We have promised door delivery to all customers. Sales have now been diverted here. Even showrooms have started placing their orders there,” he says.
For two weeks now, people have started coming to the artisans’ homes to buy. Ramalingam lauds the efforts that customers are taking to keep themselves and the doll-makers safe amid this pandemic.
“There are no cases here in Vilachery but we follow all protocols seriously. Customers who come here wear masks, maintain social distancing. They do not touch any dolls. They point to the dolls they want; we pack it up and place it in their vehicles. This has also given us hope that we will sail through this year,” he says, adding that he is also confident that they will have at least 90 per cent sales.
With two weeks left for the golu dolls to come out of the attic, only time will tell if the new dolls have got a friend in them.
A legacy
Anandakumar’s family has been making dolls for the past 115 years. Never have they witnessed such a slump. “Ask anyone here for Murugesan golu bommai and people will point you to our house,” he says. The dolls made in this district are called Mayuram dolls and find a special place in several golu padis.
Doll-makers often get ideas for new themes from customers. In pre-pandemic times, the months of April and May were when customers used to come to Anandakumar’s house unannounced to discuss their plans for the golu, ask for specific themes and place orders. This year, there was no one.
(Inputs from Sowmya Mani)