Dolls, childhood, myriad colours and finally festivals. When it comes to Dasara, all these terms are strongly interlinked with each other. The celebration, which is synonymous with traditional households in Mysore, is soon losing its glory for various reasons. Easy entertainment largely lacking in value and depth has successfully wiped out most traditions. And, ‘Bombe Habba’ is no exception.

But, with the artists trying hard to get contemporary looks to suit today’s generation with dolls made from soft wood, paper, clay, lime and plaster of Paris, the festival of dolls is all set to make a comeback. The artisans indeed have a tough task, considering the generation that doles out a couple of thousands to procure the series of ever smiling Barbies and gun-toting GI Joes for their children, demands the same kind of ‘finish’ for traditional dolls.

Dolls are back

“Even today, Bombe Habba is celebrated with all its splendour in about 300 - 400 families with traditional Mysorean roots. The young are taking to it so as to return to their roots. Their buying capacity has increased and they can afford to be generous with spending on finer things,” says Raghu, curator of the Mysore-based Ramsons Kala Pratishthana.

Ramsons has organised ‘Bombe Mane’, an exhibition-cum-sale of more than 2,000 dolls sourced from various parts of the country. “We have got a terrific response. The very fabric of Bombe Habba may have undergone a change, losing most of its traditional flavour. That does not mean people have lost it completely. Our doll exhibition in the last three years has been a stupendous success. People buy dolls and arrange them at their homes,” says R G Singh, one of the partners of Ramsons Art Gallery in Mysore.

The last five to seven years have seen the revival of the doll festival. Artists like Murugesh, who have been working on dolls for the last two decades, have seen the demands of customers change every year. “Today’s dolls are much better made than the ones that were made many decades ago. Modern technology has also helped us a great deal in making dolls to suit the taste of new customers,” he quips.

Kinhala dolls are in great demand both in India and abroad.

Changing society

Mysore, being the seat of royalty in the past, is intervowen into the tradition of celebrating most festivals. This is the case with even Hinamatsuri, a Japanese doll festival celebrated by the parents of little girls. In both places, dolls are arranged in five levels with the King and Queen seated at the topmost level. Dolls, perhaps signifying the other aspects of the agrarian society or community living like potters, blacksmiths and soldiers are seated in the descending levels.

It is indeed interesting to learn that the generation that longs for foreign entertainment and toys for their children, still looks forward to Dasara Ambari. Traditional dolls or rather traditional-looking dolls with golden hues, loud colours and traditional imageries are in major demand.

“We have a miniature structure of the Mysore Amba Vilas Palace made from different kinds of wood like teak, particle board and another form of soft wood. This is in great demand. Wooden Mahishasura has also been a hit. Buyers usually want Krishna, Rama, characters from Ramayana, Bhagavata, Dashavatara, ambari and the police band set in the same order,” Singh explains.

The Bombe Habba has made way for new jobs as well. The ‘dying art’ as it was considered, is now back into the drawing rooms of the rich and the elite, and small showcases of the massive middle class. A sharp increase in the number of seasonal consumer exhibitions round the year, even in small cities, has provided good opportunities for artisans and buyers.

Doll makers

In Sirsi, Yellapura, Hubli and Kinhala in the State, parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the whole family engages in doll-making during specific seasons. These are mostly joint families with the total number of members crossing 15. Women and men have equal jobs to share. But, in Varanasi and other parts of North India, men do the major part of work while women mostly do the decoration bit.

Not only this, some of the rich and famous even hire fine arts students to make doll arrangements. Though it is dependent on the number of dolls and their characteristics, the arrangement which includes preparing soil bed, adding clay forms, fountains and miniature lakes may well require four to five days for completion. While the student gets to exercise his creative skills, the rich are particularly generous with the payment - which is anywhere between Rs 1,000 and 2,500.

Gone with the wind

Curators are of the opinion that the art form can easily ride on the wave of consumerism and grow multifold, even beyond the shores of our country. But, the artists are seldom flexible.
“Karnataka-based artists completely dismiss our suggestions. They are not willing to accommodate any changes in their work. But, artists from other states seek suggestions from us and implement them in a jiffy,” says Raghu.
The question that remains to be answered is whether Bombe Habba - that was celebrated only by the rich and the upper crust of society - has resurrected itself to be all-inclusive or has been further categorised to remain in the hands of a privileged few.

Dolls & stars
If you can’t answer “egg or chicken?” try this one. “Dolls or actresses?” To boost the ‘saleable’ factor of dolls, they were made to resemble actress Vyjayanthi Mala in the 1970s when she was at her peak. Later came Mumtaz, followed by Rekha, Sridevi and Madhuri. Today’s dolls resemble the stunning Aishwarya Rai.

Doll’s House

Bombe Habba involves the arrangement of dolls, mostly made from clay and wood. It predominantly includes children, who go from one house to another asking “Gombe Koorsideeraa?” (have you arranged dolls?). If the answer is in positive, they storm in. They get to look at the dolls and leave the place after receiving ‘Gombe Bagina’, which consists of crunchy snacks and sweets.

‘Gombe Aarati’ is performed the day before the last day of the habba, when neighbours and relatives are invited.
Historians believe that dolls were made even in pre-historic times. However, as they were made from wood, cloth or fur, they have disintegrated and no signs of them are being found.

Each region is known for its typical doll. Dolls form an important part of culture in Assam, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Varanasi, Lucknow, Mathura, Vrindavan, Rajasthan and Orissa. Japan and South Africa too have strong traditions of gifting dolls to young girls.

Dolls’ pavilion

Ramsons Kala Pratishthana (RKP) started in 1995, during the silver jubilee celebration of Ramsons Handicrafts Emporium. RKP is a charitable trust that works towards research, training, development and conservation of art and craft forms that are slowly disintegrating. The ‘Bombe Mane’ exhibition and sale of dolls, which is into its third year, is an attempt to rekindle the passion for dolls and the traditional way of celebrating the festival.
The exhibition has taken over eight months for the organisers to arrive at its final form, including numerous meetings and demonstrations with artists from across the country. The recreation of 84 ghats across Ganga, Krishna Raas Leela on Yamuna Ghat and Mysore Palace have been an instant hit with people.