Navaratri Golu in Mylapore
Nine days of Golu sale has started in Mylapore. People from different places are in Mylapore to purchase the dolls for the Durga puja. The prices are high compared to the last time.
Chennai, Mylapore 28-september: As usually Mylapore is known for the festive sale. For every festival ,most importantly Hindhu's, number of shop vendors concentrate on selling the statues or the dolls or the things those are very much connected to the festival and the devotees. During diwali divas are sold, lord ganesh statues for Vinayaka chathurthi and now it's time for the "GOLU".
Many shops have appeared throughout Mylapore for the Navarathri sale. Shop vendors have arranged huge number of dolls in order for the sale.People are crazy on spending thousands of money on buying the dolls. The shop vendors are the local guys who are attached with the business from generations. The shop vendors set up this business for one time in the whole year and that is the Navarathri time.
"we work in different areas and on during the nine days of Durga puja we come here and set up the golu dolls for the sale as it is practiced from generations. we are doing this business from forty years."says a shop vendor. The dolls are imported from Kanchipuram, Kadalur and Panrutti. They range from rupees fifty to rupees five thousand and more than that. It depends up on the size of the doll.
The dolls are made out of clay and paper matte. Paper matte is a bit costlier than the clay and paper matte is bought by most of them as it's not easily breakable. There are people who are very much interested in buying clay dolls too. They are very much in particular in buying clay for the holy saying that the natural way is always good and will bring they prosperity.
A temple trustees were in Mylapore to buy the dolls for the Navarathri golu in the temple. They came from Guduvanchery. They bought a statue made out of clay which costs about three thousand rupees. The statue was of the lord Krishna and Radha, Krishna playing the flute next to a cow. While asked them the reason to spend so much of money on a doll, one of them named Vijayalakshmi said that "We keep the golu for nine days in the temple. every year we come here to buy any one doll at least. because it's a custom that in a golu there must be a doll that is bought new. It may be anything and not particular that it has to be god's statue. As it's for temple we bought Lord krishna's."
A woman who is one among the sellers has been on the business from thirty two years. she is doing it from her childhood along with her mother and now with her son. She says that" Am selling the dolls for the golu from thirty two years, from my childhood. I was accompanying my mother while she was involved in the same work. And now it's me who has taken the business. Am a house wife and i do this just once in an year during this time"says Ammu.
One of the sellers had spoken about the days they open the shop for selling the dolls. he said that the shops will be opened before full moon day and the sales starts from then. The dolls are imported from different parts of tamil nadu and sold here. The prices are higher this time but the people are yet interested in buying them.
The history behind having Golu in every house is that they do the puja for nine days for three gods especially Lakshmi, Saraswathi, durga. Three days for lakshmi, three days for saraswathi and another three days for Durga. As a custom they are not supposed to keep the sculptures or the frames of these pagon gods in the Golu,so the dolls made of clay are being followed as a custom. Any doll can be kept in Golu and food offered for the god should be filled with nine varieties of dishes.
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