Bommai Kolu

 Bommai Kolu

The old lady stood at the foot of the ladder, arms on her hips, supervising and directing the operations. The little boy sat in front of an open trunk in the attic, un-wrapping the dolls stored inside and handing them down carefully. His two sisters sat at the foot of the ladder, receiving the dolls handed down and dusting them.

The little boy was covered in dust and cobwebs but he was happy. He was allowed to get up into the attic only twice a year, just before Dasara and immediately after. This was something he loved to do. His sisters too were enjoying their chore; chattering away to each other while cleaning and getting the dolls ready to be put on display.

The little boy climbed down and relaxed on the floor watching them. His work was done. It was over to the ladies now.

The display steps, or “kolu padi” as they were known, were not easy to set up. It took a couple of stools, a number of biscuit tins, stacks of books, boxes, planks and the ingenuity of the grand lady to put it all together. She was a past master at this, having done it for the last so many years. She instinctively knew which tins would over go which stools at the two ends, to achieve level and balance. Finally, when the planks were in place and the whole assembly was checked for stability and passed, the steps were covered with a couple of off-white “veshtis”. It was hard toil, but the result was satisfying. The dolls could now be arranged on these steps. Granny took care of the two steps on top while the girls busied themselves with the bottom three. Traditionally, the number of steps was always an odd number.

It would be a few years before the youngest of the family would join his three siblings in Bangalore. Being old enough to climb up the ladder to the attic, he would gleefully join them in the work.

Slowly, the display took shape. At the centre of the top step was placed the “Kalasa” holding a pomegranate surrounded by mango leaves. By its side, the two “marapachi” dolls (traditional dolls, a man and a lady, made of a dark wood and dressed up in colourful costumes) were placed. On either side were displayed the Shiva-Parvati and Rama-Sita sets. On the next lower steps were placed the other sets like the Radha-Krishna-Gopikas and the marriage procession sets. The bottom-most couple of steps were given over to the single dolls, the porcelain statuettes and myriad others collected over the years.

The Dasara display was ready. Neighbours, friends and relatives would be invited to view the display. Every day a different kind of sundal would be prepared and distributed to all visitors.

Some seasons the children would create a “park”. They would spread sand (collected from the neighbouring construction site) on the ground near the display, carefully wet it and sprinkle mustard seeds over it. They would make roads and walkways and place tiny toys at strategic points. A couple of days later the mustard seeds would begin to sprout and the “park” would look green and attractive.

Now the grand old lady is no longer there. The “children” are all much older and two of them have children of their own. But the tradition continues to this day. This year too, if you take some time off to visit our home, you can see the “bommai kolu” display and savour the sundal of the day!

Happy Dasara!

Dasara habbada hardhika shubhashayagalu!