With the beginning of Navratri festivities in Karnataka, a resident of Thyagaraj Nagar in Bengaluru decorated her house with nearly 10,000 Dasara dolls this year.
The dolls exhibited by Bhagyalakshmi at her home include dolls older than a century. This year she chose the theme of the ancient story of 'Mahabharata' wherein she depicted the crucial scenes related to the Mahabharata characters like Draupadi 'Maanabhanga', Bheeshma sleeping on a bed of arrows, Draupadi 'Swayamwara' etc.
Bhagyalakshmi toldthat, "Due to pandemic situation we couldn't keep dolls last years' Navaratri. Since we got two years of time we got around 250 different dolls and decorated with hair, dress, jewellery etc. Every year we change the theme. This year we chose the theme of depicting Mahabharata, where we have picked up major events of Mahabharatha like the game of dice, Draupadi 'Maanabhanga', Bheeshma sleeping on a bed of arrows, Draupadi 'Swayamwara' etc".
She added, "We have got dolls from various countries. We also have heritage dolls that are 100 years old. We have around 50,000 dolls, this time we have exhibited around 10,000 dolls. We have been doing it for 60 years as a tradition".
"There are a variety of dolls over here. There are different concepts here. Every set of dolls is telling a new set of stories. We have Mahabharata, we have a dice game that was played before. We feel very happy to see that. It's very special," said Vinay, a neighbour.
"It is a wonderful job here. This helps the younger generation to connect with the earlier era. Every year there is a different theme. Every time we get a better perspective off course, nostalgic memory for people like me," said Srinivasan, a neighbour.
Decorating the house with a copious number of dolls in Navratri for the exhibition is a year's tradition in Karnataka. Also known as Bombe Habba, Golu, Kolu in Kannada or simply Dasara dolls, the tradition is a must for households in South India. Every year with the beginning of Navratri (Dasara Gombe), south Indians especially in the old Mysore region decorate their house with Dasara dolls.
( With inputs from ANI )
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