Festive spirit permeates Chennai as Navarathri or Kolu, the festival of dolls is round the corner. A lot of ground work has to be done before the occurrence of the actual festival Gone are the days when the house was turned topsy turvy for drums and other articles for kolu padi. Nowadays the kolu steps are ready made and we just have to assemble the steps and fix it. There is a lot of running around for ready made kolu padi as they are in great demand chuckled a carpenter.

The dolls which are wrapped in dhotis and papers and stored in the attic are brought down at least two days prior to the commencement of Kolu.Women having a penchant for bright and trendy dolls are rummaging the Doll houses and Kuralagam for purchase. The doll sellers are sore about the escalating price cost of the paint and mould. The mud from Manamadurai is ideally suited for making dolls. The doll makers are squeezing their brains to be innovative every year.

Women who are focused with thematic presentations go around ransacking the shops to collect dolls for their theme. To conceptualize any theme a person should be well versed with the epics, spiritual, social and historical facts. Many kolu buffs dish out novel themes like cricket Ganapathy, stone sculptures at Mammalapuram. and Ravana durbar.

Mylapore mada veedhi is haunted by women who are obsessed with novel ideas for KoluAnd there is a coterie which is more particular about presenting new gifts along with Tambulam when the ladies visit home.

They make a ritualistic visit to the shops which is littered with gift articles. The shop owners feel the pulse of the buyers and stock the items The Bommai Kadai are stealthily creeping in the service lane of Usman road adjacent to the flyover. Though the police are on a vigil and chase them off yet they make their appearance now and then. Kuralagam and other government owned shops are pumping in dolls to lure the buyers.Kolu is a vibrant happening event with a dose of spirituality and guarantees social interactions and togetherness of some sorts.

Usha Raja

Click here for Archives