VELLORE: For 25-year-old Malini R, every Navratri golu brings a rush of memories — from fighting with her two brothers to climb the steps and arrange dolls on the topmost row to finding a particular doll in a game of hide-and-seek. As she helps her aunt, Uma Maheshwari, receive guests and give them thamboolam (a gift offered by the hosts to visitors during golu) at her ancestral house near Vellore's Long Bazaar, she remembers her childhood days, when the house used to be vibrant for each day of golu. At this house, keeping golu has been a tradition since the time of Malini's great-grandfather, A S Arunachalam. A majority of the over 500 dolls on display have been preserved for at least 40-50 years now, some even longer.
There is a dedicated room in the house where the family keeps the dolls. "After the day of Ayudha Puja, we bubble wrap each doll and keep it upstairs," said Malini.
Unpacking and packing the dolls require days of effort, as setting up the beams and steps and moving the dolls from upstairs take up one whole day each. Arranging the dolls is a three-person effort, which also requires a day's work. "Some dolls are heavy as they are made of clay. We have to be very careful while moving the items," said 61-year-old Uma. Over the years, the number of dolls on display has gone down; some have also lost colour, which would typically be repainted by Malini.
The family members recalled how Arunachalam acquired unique dolls, some of which are not available nowadays. "There used to be doll sets representing village life, gurukulam education, stories of Thiruparkadal, Ramayana episodes, Nallathangal stories, the Kannagi and Kovalan story, Paariyoduth Theru, etc.," said Uma, adding that the prices of dolls have also drastically increased. When Arunachalam moved to Vellore from his native village of Kottapoondi in Villupuram, he brought with him a miniature village set, which is still displayed in the golu. The tradition of keeping golu at the ancestral home passed from father to son, AS Paramasivam, and then to the grandchildren -- Uma and her brother Raju (Malini's father).
The family also recalled its theme-based golus, for which the bottom row is typically dedicated. One year, the display featured Sathanur Dam and life around it; another year, it was Christmas. The Taj Mahal was also featured in the display once. "We (once) had an Olympics theme...," Malini interjected. Deciding the theme was a big draw for the children, who would sit together and discuss ideas ahead of Navratri.
Malini said, "In my childhood days, all my cousins would visit. As we were kids, we were not given much work. Rather, we would be asked to locate specific dolls. For instance, they would ask us to find a doll holding a black key, and the children would walk around the house looking for it." Now, she uses the same trick to engage the children.
Though Arunachalam's family is no longer a joint family, the tradition continues at their respective homes. The families exchange dolls when they visit their ancestral house, while neighbours and friends continue to drop by each season, sometimes bringing dolls as gifts.
