VISAKHAPATNAM: Bommala Koluvu is a traditional way of exhibiting cultures and depicting mythological stories through various kinds of dolls and figurines during the Navratri festival. This fading tradition is regaining its lost glory with the present generation striving hard to revive it and pass onto the next generations.
The Koluvu is an arrangement of idols and dolls in the form of step-like horizontal arrays. The number of steps often varies from 1 step to as many as 15 or more. This is widely displayed during the Dasara Festival or Sankranti in the Southern States of India.
“Unlike today’s children, we did not have many dolls to play with back then. But the very few we owned surely had a great story behind them. And exhibiting them once or twice a year along with siblings, cousins and friends always gave us the pleasure of sharing those stories with each other. When I was 5 years old, my grandfather gifted me a wooden kitchen set. Though I lost many of them, I was able to pass them on to my granddaughter, who lives in the USA. Today, she exhibits them in her koluvu. I think this is the whole point of such practices. It is more important to pass on values and stories to the next generations than properties and money,” says 84-year-old Lakshmi Devi.
Modernising a little the traditional way of setting up Bommala Koluvu, Sirisha Dwarapudi, a resident of Visakhapatnam, added a collection of Marvel and DC funko pop figurines to grab more attention of children.
“I believe it is one of the easiest ways of narrating stories to children. I choose a different mythological story every year. The Bommala Koluvu keeps the children engaged and also lets them question a lot, which is when they understand the stories better,” she said. Setting up a Bommala Koluvu was her childhood dream, but she only had the opportunity to have one of her own after getting married.
“Arranging Bommala Koluvu needs patience and a sense of colours. It helps family and friends get together and spend quality time, which is the need of the hour,” stated Sri Narmada. Subhasri, an avid traveller, who believes in being vocal to the local talent, often buys dolls and miniatures from local markets from every place she travels to, which symbolises the greatness and history of that particular place.