Dasara is one of the auspicious
hindu festivals where Mother Goddess is worshipped in many forms and the tenth
day ends with Vijayadashami, which celebrates the victory of good over
evil.
Since I was a child, I was always
excited by this festival also called as Bombe Habba or dolls festival. These
dolls would be placed on a steps like arrangement. The dolls are organized in themes to tell a story. The
stories narrated through the placement of dolls could be related to Mythology (God/Goddess
based), current affairs, royalty, village fair, school, sports, marriage,
house,..etc. The dolls would be made from clay, plaster of Paris, plastic,
clothes, cotton, threads, glass, wood,…etc. My collection of
these dolls is unique. They were all handmade by my Grandmother!!! This collection very
much set our 'dolls display' different from any such display in our colony and I was proud
to own this collection.
Thinking about the collection she
has created, her devotion to this art and the maintenance activities that follow, makes
me understand what true passion is all about. Over 1000 handmade dolls were displayed
on multiple steps in her living room during Dasara.
However, since last two years they are at display all through the
year in a recently constructed doll enclosure at her residence. Every doll was
delicately created with minute details. My personal favourites were the
stuffed dolls which were colourful with rich clothing and accessories. The themes
Lakshmi – Narayana resting, Annapurna Shiva Bhikshe, Krishna – Gopikas dance,
Teen Deviyan, Bharat Mata, Meera Bai, basket/funnel/straw dolls, Japanese
lady,….etc. are few of the memorable ones. Apart from many artificial flowers made from cloth, cotton, wool, paper,...etc. My grandmother takes great
pleasure to gift many dolls to not only her children and grandchildren but
also to her friends, relatives and neighbours. For her it is a joy to create them.
It takes considerable time and effort of my ajji in carefully preserving and protecting them. She
carries cherished memories of how she learnt making these dolls as a hobby
which was costly and unwanted in those days of hardship and yet, how my grandfather
always supported her for this.
Her preparation to display would
start at least before a week. With the help of my aunt, she would arrange these dolls in
steps. No invitation is required - everyone is welcome during Dasara days
to her residence to view this magnificient arrangement. Residents in her suburb (Jayanagar, Bangalore) popularly called
her Bombe Ajji and her house as
Bombe Mane. I am one of the privileged few who have got the first hand experience of seeing her craft and passion of creating
dolls, giving unique names to all the dolls, singing melodious songs and putting colourful Rangoli. As kids, all of
us singing the ‘Chandanada Bombakka’ folksong during the festival still
resonates around me. These displays and celebrations were a wonderful means to catch
up with family and friends who made some time to visit your home. Off late, we
catch up only on WhatsApp and Facebook sharing pics, thoughts,..etc. Of course, we have the advantages of virtually visiting places but it
lacks the emotional depth that we could feel while in person.
Seeing her enthusiasm even today,
makes me believe in the saying ‘Age is just a number’. When you do what gives
you immense joy; physical pain or stress is just oblivious to you. This same
outlook she has passed on to her next generations; hopefully I am getting a
part of it too.
The tradition of displaying dolls
continue now with my daughter and her friends asking me many questions and
stories related to Mythology. I take this festival as a wonderful opportunity
to narrate her tales that I grew up listening! The tradition has continued for
generations to display and tell stories to young ones, to learn life with no
classes and teach them the biggest moral:
'Triumph of good over Evil!’
