Dolls

Goa is so ganesh chaturthi oriented that the wonder of Navaratri as in the rest of the country is absent.
Every where the effects of aggressive dandiya marketing is seen. I really admire the Bengalis association for its focused traditional durga pooja. We somehow seem to have given up our traditions. When my older daughter asked me about it she was 3 then, I decided to revive the gollu tradition.
For me it brings back memories of my Penkonda nurtured maternal grandmother, and her hyperactivity. And of course the fascinating world of dolls.
Except for the cowbelt Navaratri is associated with Durga pooja, or the divine feminine.
The Navaratri gollu is a display of toys in 9 levels, or metlu/padi (essentially a step) one for each day of the Navaratri the topmost has the dampati or the raja rani dolls. The presiding dolls. In front a them a kalash with water, coin, 5 mango leaves, and a coconut are arranged. When dodda (my grandmother) was young every Navaratri at least one doll was bought.
Evening was the social occasion sundal, and paanaka would be made and women from the neighborhood would visit each other, sing songs, and of course gossip. ‘
Dolls have been part of civilizations; they could have emerged from discarded totem. Many of them were made by potters, Kosam of Allahabad is known for its toy cats. The presence of miniatures of daily life for play purpose is evident in the title of shudraka’s play Mrichchakatikam.
Mother and child dolls are offered as thanks giving many a times, while small black dolls are hung ward away the evil in Maharashtra , the scarecrow is a large version of it. Many of these are made at home, just before the puja and then immersed away after it; making of this involved the children of the family thus folk wisdom was handed down.
Sambalpuri dolls have an animal motif, toymakers of Rajasthan also have their special range of animal toys.
Toymakers always replicated what they saw round them. Then came the aesthetic component, like the theater artist the toymaker has to observe life too.
When I got married I started my collection with the kodandapalli dolls, made of wood called punki individual component is carved and fitted in. these dolls show such detailing when it comes to costumes. The trend of the Kodandapalli dolls are various professions that people follow. The dolls have now begun to depict missionaries, doctors and construction workers. The presence of thata-paati dolls kind of unconsciously make the kids accept grandparents as part of life.
The dolls from Chennai, tend be on the fuller side, particularly the chettiar couple kind of dolls again these dolls very different from the 36-26-36 image created by Barbie they teach us to accept all shapes and sizes.
The dancing dolls of Tanjavur made their appearance sometime in the 19th century and have fascinated kids since then with their curved structure and nodding heads.
The first collection I had for my daughter was miniature furniture, a miniature godrej cupboard (which was gifted to her by the company) and a miniature Hawkins. The furniture was made by a neighbor who had a carpentry unit and he fashioned this out of left over wood. She had the entire range of cooking stuff from the chennapatna collection.
The choir dolls from kerala are crafted to the details of knee joints, the patches on the skin of a giraffe; yet, the simplicity of it is amazing it is just made by interweaving choir thread.
Cloth dolls from Gujarat and madhyapradesh are another part of our heritage. Metal dolls of Bengal, the toymaker of India has used abundantly available indigenous material and created amazing creatures. These are one of a kind.
The world of dolls is so fascinating every Navaratri I try to learn something but it never seems to end. From Mohenjo-Daro to the woolen dolls of modern Punjab (made from left over wool) the bamboo puppets to the Rajastani raja-rain puppets the world is amazing.
My own favorite collection was the chennapattana dolls.
All of you out there who are like me I mean who refuse to grow up when it comes to dolls please visit the doll museum at Delhi, when you get passed the modern plastics you have ethnic crafted dolls from the world.