CHENNAI: Getting dressed in a pattu paavadai, jasmine flowers swirled around my braids, glass bangles in my hands, and going golu hopping was one of my favourite memories of Navaratri celebrations. Invited to all the houses in my area, my routine for the nine days was to come back from school, dress up, and go to the neighbours’ house just to look at the dolls arranged in steps forming the golu. From mythological stories and park scenes to cricket pitch and wedding rituals, there was something different in every household. Cut to 2023, I am armed with a book titled Kalpakam’s Golu with Gowri Dolls authored by Kalpakam
Srinivasamurti, which was launched recently at Tag Centre. The book talks about how Navaratri reinstates a sense of equanimity and peace with the custom to organise golu, a tradition that is usually the centre of attraction. ‘In Tamil Nadu, the celebration of Navaratri has become synonymous with keeping golu’, quotes the book. Filled with pictures of various dolls and golu setups, the book gives an insight into various epics and legends that were projected ever since the initiation of conceptual golus in 1955 by the family.
Behind the scenes
With no intention to document the practice as a book, it was Chandra Sankar from Kalam Kriya who motivated Kalpakam to write this book in four months and even got it published. A photo album maintained over the years — a collection of all the golu setups — shows the gradual change. From black and white photographs to colour pictures, there is an explanation for each. The book originally written by Kalpakam was translated into English by her son, Tirumurthy.
A few pages in, I learn that golu is much more than cricket, park and beach scenes. Setting up one is very difficult and involves a lot of work to be done months prior to the festival. It was Kalpakam’s mother-in-law, Sundari Ammal who was the brain behind the concept, dedicating each Navaratri to narrate six scenes from epics and legends, which is now being passed on to generations.
The conceptual golus sourced special dolls from Mysuru to tell the stories. “Every year around Gowri Pooja, dolls made of light wood are put on sale. My mother-in-law’s sister stayed in Mysore and she helped us with the dolls,” says Kalpakam. The practice began when Sundari Ammal decorated two dolls — one as Goddess Rajarajeswari and the other worshipping the goddess holding a garland. From then on, they embarked on a creative spree. The family owns 12 such dolls that are detachable and turned into various characters year after year.
Embellishing them was a task. For example, portraying lord Shiva needed a tiger skin for which the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo went on a fabric hunt. Reminiscing those events, Kalpakam shares, “We used to run to markets across the city to get hold of raw materials. If we didn’t get what we want, we used thermocol, plaster of Paris, old clothes, or wooden sticks. A lot of handwork went into narrating a scene. These days everything is available handy.”
Parting knowledge
The purpose was to promote an educational message in an entertaining way. The family made it a norm that the invitees get a unique experience by standing out in their themes. Students from the local school visit the celebration every year and get to learn something new.
Now that students attend the celebration it is important to have all the details on their fingertips. “Children are always keen to know why, when, where and how. So the pattern was so that each year a subject was selected and dissected to its root,” she shares. They intended to pass on authentic information and have answers for every possible question put forth. For which 600 books stacked by Sundari Ammal are referred to till this date.
The concepts range from epics and women in history and modern day. To promote women’s empowerment and bravery, a Navaratri was dedicated to Keladi Chennamma, who fought a war against the Mughals. To bring a sense of relatability to the current world, scenes from the movies of Sivaji Ganesan are depicted.
With Navaratri around the corner, Kalpakam’s family is busy planning this year’s theme and collecting materials. Kalpakam shares that she was supported by her mother-in-law, Sundari Ammal with ideation and execution, after her demise, it was her conceptualisations that inspired Kalpakam to take it forward for years, and now the legacy is taken forward by her daughter and daughter-in-law.
“Whatever I learnt from my mother-in-law is only 10%. I feel now that I could have learnt more,” smiles Kalpakam as she signs off.