Tamil Nadu   

A look at how Kolu's faring in the city

Sandhya Soman

In some homes, a dash of tradition and a little of the modern does the trick In some homes, a dash of tradition and a little of the modern does the trick

CHENNAI : Now that Navaratri celebrations are well on the way, it's time to take a look at some of those in the city who have dusted off the shelves with the old `kolu' dolls or are revisiting tradition by going in for brand new ones to deck up the nine steps.

Singer-musician Bhavatarani yearned for dolls as a kid, especially after she visited her father Illayaraja's friends during Navaratri. Her mother yielded and they started in a small way. And then, "One day my teacher was there and asked me to sing. My brothers played the violin," she recalls. Now? "It grew bigger every year. Now it is a routine to have `kolu' and invite family, friends and famous singers for the evening concert."

As usual the family will start with morning poojas and end with concerts by the big names in the industry in the evening. And as usual, get new dolls. It is `Pillayar' (Ganesha idol) holding a cellphone this year while for last kolu the family recreated `Kailas' (abode of Siva).

A huge transparent water-filled stand will hold all knick-knacks picked up by Bhavatarani and her mother, either from Khadi Craft or Poompuhar showrooms. Idols of gods and goddesses will adorn the traditional nine-step arrangement.

Krithika Shukla, corporate communications professional, is on a trip down memory lane this Navratri. The person, who used to lead the entire family in celebrating Navaratri by setting up "bright and different" kolu, is no more. "My grandfather used to make replicas of temples using thermocol every year -- Sabarimala, Tirupati, Palani, Vaideeswaran... There would be priests, gopurams made with gold paper... " At the end of it, everybody in the apartment complex sings and the family will gift `sundal'.

There is an assembly of dolls at Syndicate Bank's T. Nagar branch. Chief Manager O.N. Nagarajan says the tradition of setting up `kolu' started in 1984. "This was a ladies' branch as per the bank's policy of having similar branches in every metro. It was exclusively manned by women employees and they started setting up kolus every year. We continue the tradition though it became a regular branch since 2001," he says. This year, the branch has a `Dasavatharam' (10 avatars of Vishnu) set other than the mixture old and new `bommais'. They will also have a display board featuring the bank's loan and deposit schemes next to the kolu.

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