Thursday, October 25, 2007

Navrathri 2007

Hi everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Navrathri. I did too. This year, I got my dear hubby and his friend Gopi to build me steps for displaying my golu. The backbone for any golu is the steps. All these years we managed to find cardboard boxes and arranged them to form steps. It worked but was not all that polished. It was uneven. We went to LOWES and bought Deck Steps. We needed two side panels which were already precut into the shape of steps.Then we bought wooden planks which would rest on the side panels and two wooden beams to hold the two panels together. All in all it was a fun project and Sathyan's very first woodworking project. It was a great success and I am indeed very glad with the results. Thanks Sathyan and Gopi.

After the steps were ready, we had to cover it with a cloth before draping my expensive kanjeevaram saree on to the steps. We ripped an old comforter, measured, cut and placed the cloth on the steps, pinning it down as we worked our way from the top. Now it looked nice, hiding away all the wood and gaps. Then came my kanjeevaram saree, draped neatly and cautiously over the five steps. On the topmost step I placed the "Marpachi Bommai" or " Pattada Bombe", which signifies "fertility" and is given to a daughter in her wedding.On the second step, came the sandalwood deities. Originally dolls from mythology are placed depicting stories related to Dussera and Navrathri. But now a days even barbies and other toys have a place on the steps. It's all about keeping your tradition alive and using your creativity.

I made a zoo this time using my son Saakash's train set as the main attraction. Around the tracks i created small areas for animals and put some picnic tables all over. Saakash is 2 years and 9 months old. He was not very happy to see his train but not play with it. So we asked him to be the train operator and he was fascinated. He was the best train operator we ever knew. I finished the display with a rangoli of Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles, praying for a smooth celaebration.

So now for the Grand Finale, I invite each and every one of you to come and view my doll display, Navrathri 2007.












Here are some wonderful golu pictures shared by my good friend Priya. She keeps saying that her golu is very simple but I feel it's very elegant. It's the thought and the dedication that goes into it, rather than the enormity. Don't you agree with me?






Golu at my co-sister Vani's place in Singapore: Yet another masterpiece! Seems like creativity runs in the family.




16 comments:

Swaruchy said...

Saakshi......Beautiful Golu.....The Lowe's idea rocked....I never arranged golu in my life but wud love seeing everyone else's....Simply loved urs...beautiful :-)

Purnima said...

Hi Saakshi..this Golu was very pretty and my daughter loved all the toys that were put up! Shes gonna be 3 next month and had so many questions abt the Bomme display!! Its 11 pm here and this post has made her day! Tonight I will have to tell her stories involving your photos!! Tks for posting!! ITS BEAUTIFUL! I LOVEDDD UR RANGOLI TOO!!!

Unknown said...

Wonderful. Hope u had a great time.

bee said...

i love this!! what a lucky little boy your son is.

EC said...

amazing display of golu...especially the rangoli and toys..i would like to give you one idea for the next navratri...you could try out putting rangolis using fabric or acrylic colours on transparent plastic sheet...they would like as if put on the floor and will not get spoiled too even if kids come over...check out my idea of transparent rangoli in my crafts blog http://easycrafts.blogspot.com/2007/10/transparent-rangolis.html

FH said...

WOW!! What a beautiful collection of dolls. I bet kids enjoy this festival as much as adults. Looks like lot of fun. Enjoy!:))

Swaroopa said...

wow nice bommala koluvu. loved urs.

Richa said...

that is so beautiful.
love ur rangoli, did u do it yourself, it is very very beautiful :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Saakshi, Your gombe mane looks wonderfull. Hope you had a wonderfull Navaratri.

saakshi said...

Thanks Sirisha. I had read about getting the steps at Home Depot but found Lowes to be cheaper.

saakshi said...

Thanks Purnima. Glad that ur daughter liked it. I know....kids are so inquisitive these days, sometimes parents have no answers to their questions.

saakshi said...

Thanks Pushpa. We had a wonderful time, met some old school friends and relatives, it was fun.

saakshi said...

Thanks Bee. It's such a sweet thing to say.

Anonymous said...

long time no post???waiting for ur next post!

Dreamers in Action said...

I just chanced upon your blog. My hearty compliments for your labour of love. It is people like you who keep our parampara alive.
I am a Bangalorean settled in Mysore, married to a Gujju from Bombay. I would like her to try out Kadambam, the typical Iyengar delicacy which I have tasted only once, many years ago. Would you please help?
Thanks
www.cybermysore.com

saakshi said...

Thanks 'Clean Hand' for your kind words. I have not made kadambam as yet, always make bisibelebath. I will surely make it and post the recipe soon.