How Tamil Nadu’s Golu dolls returned to their roots

The Golu or doll festival is celebrated for nine days in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and parts of KeralaGolu is celebrated for Goddess Durga who killed MahishasuraEvery home puts up a display of dolls on three-, five- and seven-step setupsAs much as Golu today is all about fun and get-togethers, it has a 500-year history When did Golu begin? What changes did it undergo?And how has the Crafts Council of India helped in retaining the authentic Golu doll-making tradition? Every year Navratri, or the nine sacred nights of the Mother Goddess, is celebrated in diverse traditions across India. Up North, pilgrims set out on a sacred journey to the cave temple of Vaishno Devi. In the East, Durga is worshipped with music, chants and the sacred beats of the dhak. And in the South, almost every home puts together a stunning showcase of colourful dolls and figurines in a tradition they call the Golu. The Golu or doll festival is celebrated for nine days in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and parts of Kerala. It culminates in Saraswati Puja on day nine and Vijaya Dashami on day 10. Golu is a festival that is especially loved by children when every home puts up a display of dolls on three-, five- and seven-step setups. Most of these dolls are representations of Hindu gods and goddesses, but at times they could even be popular political figures and fictional characters like Spiderman. Setting up the Golu is a family activity that could take up a whole Sunday. It's also a time to get creative. For instance, it's not surprising to see a real garden created out of mustard saplings. This could be your landscape for a lazy countryside, or perhaps even a school playground. Some families create characters out of clay, mini ponds, waterfalls, and even science projects. It's pretty much putting to use the best of what you learned in your school's craft class. Golu is a wonderful occasion to meet friends and family, and there's a whole food tradition built around it. Every evening, guests are treated to the Sundal of the day. And every home invariably has a Sundal of the day. Sundal is a dish that's essentially made with stir-fried lentils and legumes. Like black eyed peas, chickpeas or horse gram, seasoned with fragrant spices and tempered with grated coconut and curry leaves. It's delicious, healthy and is best finished with a cup of hot filter coffee. As much as Golu today is all about fun and get-togethers, it has a 500-year history. History of Golu“The Navratri Golu has had its origin in the South for more than 500 years,” says historian and heritage enthusiast PB Mani. “This happened during the period of Vijayanagar Kings. Who were strongly revivalist and they wanted to keep the tradition of a Hindu religion. They started celebrating Navratri in a big way and they started keeping Golu. In the state of Tamil Nadu. You will be surprised to know the princely states of Pudukkottai and Tanjir had Grand Golu arrangements in palaces. In temples The Golus used to be kept in a grand manner for more than hundreds of years. “This Golu is called Bomai Golu in Tamil Nadu, Bommai Kolu in Andhra Pradesh and Gombe Habba in Karnataka. This Navratri is celebrated for the Goddess Durga who killed the Mahishasura, who was terrorising all the three worlds. This Asura had a boon that no man could kill him. So all the gods and goddesses, they got together and appropriated Shakti in the form of Goddess Durga and gave her all the powers. Shakti fought with the demon Mahishasura for more than nine days and she was able to kill him on the 10th day. This 10th day is celebrated as a Vijaya Dashami,” Mani says, “The selfless sacrifice of these gods for the good of the world is symbolised in the form of dolls kept in beautiful, beautifully arranged steps. In the South, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu, these dolls are handed over from generation to generation. A new bride who is getting married is given a Marapachi Bommai, which is seen as a symbol of prosperity and fertility, to continue the tradition.” Artisan communityApart from a fascinating history, this much-loved doll festival has an entire community of rural artisans who are generational doll makers. Some of the rarest Golu dolls are often passed on like heirlooms within families, and these are protected like a treasure because they have such incredible historic value. They are handmade in clay, as opposed to the thousands of such plaster-dolls that you'll find in the market. The clay dolls aren't just environment friendly, they are at the heart of a rich handicraft tradition that may be dying. To give these seasonal artisans better livelihood and to keep the tradition of Golu doll making alive, the Crafts Council of India started working with the traditional Golu doll makers of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, to produce doll sets using techniques that were exactly the same as the olden days. This kind of hand work doesn't just give the dolls a characteristic style in terms of the way they look in terms of the finish, but also keeps a precious ancient tradition alive. medium110815365Help from Crafts Council of India “There is a papier-mache and clay doll manufacturing society in Kanchipuram with over 250 members,” says Gita Ram, chairperson of Crafts Council of India. “There are small units and large units. They sell their dolls once a year and that's when they get the yearly earnings to wholesalers. Wholesalers come and buy the dolls and take them away. “Last year, the society reached out to the Crafts Council of India because they were under dire circumstances not being able to sell the dolls the previous year because the markets were closed due to the pandemic,” she points out. “We reached out to them with the usual free rations. But we also started a dialogue with them to understand their market and their problems. We had also been hearing from our friends and people we know who keep Navratri Golu every year about their frustration, not being able to buy new dolls to add to their collection. They found that what was available in the market was garish and not to their taste. So our project was aimed at restoring the Navratri Golu dolls to the traditional aesthetic.” How challenging was it to revive these old traditions?“We were surprised to find that the skills have not been lost,” Gita Ram says. “The mould makers are still very, very skilled. They can make their clay dolls with their eyes closed and the proportions would be perfect. So making the clay model, making the moulds and taking the papier-mache cast out of it and then painting it. The only place where we really had some impact on the final look of the dolls was in the colour aesthetics. So, our artist coordinator worked with them and tried to reintroduce the old colours, which were very limited. It did not cover the wide range of colour paints available in the market. They were willing to do whatever we wanted them to do, but they were very sceptical about whether people would want to buy anything so pale and muted." And yet they were able to create more than 100 dolls, which were all sold at the artisans’ collective exhibition that was recently held in Chennai.Audio production: Prateek KapoorNote: The podcast was recorded on Oct 1, 2022