Festive nights

NAVARATHRI IS perhaps the most colourful of festivals observed in the country. It is celebrated by one and all, to honour the wives of the Creator, Protector and Destroyer.

The excitement builds a couple of days before the start of the festival. Dusty chests are lowered from lofts. Their lids are opened to reveal an array of dolls, wrapped carefully in old newspapers after the previous year's Kolu. Wooden boxes and long planks play an important role in the display. Of course, old dhotis come in useful during this time of the year. Carefully washed and impeccably bleached, they are used to cover the makeshift racks. And then, it is time for ideas and arguments galore. While one family member wants a scene from the Ramayana to occupy centre-stage, another feels Andal should have pride of place and yet another prefers Lord Krishna...

"Dhruv did not talk to me for two days just because I wanted to place Goddess Saraswati on the top step against his choice of Lord Ganesha, says Vasumathi, a busy housewife, describing her 12-year-old son's preference.

The kolu grows larger and grander with each addition and alteration that is made. New dolls are purchased each year to add to the existing collection. Somehow, the Vasumathis and Dhruvs find enough place to display the dolls of their choice. And each scene and tier of the grand spectacle speaks volumes of the excitement and hard work that have gone into the arrangement.

It is also time to compete with relatives and neighbours. If Pattu maami has five steps and a TIDEL park, then Ambujam maami will have seven steps and two parks which makes Rukku maami determined to add four more to hers. But, of course, no kolu can be larger than those in the temples. The kolu in the Kapaleeshwarar temple, Mylapore and the Parthasarathy temple, Triplicane are so huge that devotees take the entire day to understand the meaning of the innumerable scenes, depicting the wisdom, valour and might of the Lord, notwithstanding his playful pranks. Kolu is not for one's family members alone. And so, besides kith and kin, neighbours and friends too are invited to drop by and witness the elaborate display. The occasion provides an opportunity for the exchange of pleasantries and invitations to witness the kolu in other houses too.

Shops, especially those that spring up on the pavements for the festival, do brisk business. It is the season to attire oneself in resplendent silks and gold ornaments.

Many community and residents' associations all over the city organise entertainment and cultural programmes during Navarathri.

For instance, the Gujarathis have a grand Dandia dance festival in the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. The Bengali Association also organises various events during Durga Puja.

The festivities come to a close after nine days. In keeping with tradition, the dolls are given a rest for a day before they are carefully packed and put by till the next year.

However, though the revelry fizzles out, the spirit of harmony and goodwill linger ...

D. PRAVIN

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