It's story time, folks!

Dasara’ is in full bloom and most families in the city have dusted their collection of dolls and are showcasing them elaborately.

The displays are centred around a range of themes - focussing on historical, mythological, social and environmental issues - to make them engrossing.

Every household has a different story to tell through the many doll arrangements that they do. Sridhar Ramu has showcased seven different themes this year. Every corner of his home has a unique look and feel to it.

Among the many themes that Sridhar has chosen to display this year ‘The Malgudi Village’ is something to watch out for. “Here we have chosen to showcase the entire village of Malgudi. There is a temple with all the related accessories, a railway station which includes the station master, the vendors and a book stall. The railway track is built from scratch and has a small train placed on it. We have also shown small houses - both in traditional and modern architecture - to show the digital divide. There is also a village setting with domestic animals,” explains Sridhar.

About why he chose Malgudi, Sridhar explains, “Malgudi is associated with R K Narayan and everybody instantly connects to the village. We have also placed miniature versions of skilled artisans like carpenters, blacksmiths, cobblers, brickmakers and weavers to complete the story.” There is also a Carnatic music theme on display.

“We have put together a Carnatic music concert with the traditional ensemble of performers which include a mridangam player, a ghatam player, a tabla player and another playing the veena. All these dolls are made by my mother Pankajam Ramu.”

Another family in the city that have put together a doll arrangement this year is Prof Balachander. He has been displaying the ‘Dasara’ dolls for a couple of years now.

“Some of the dolls in the collection are more than 100 years old and have been passed down four generations. We have about 750 dolls this year and we have worked on presenting different themes,” says Balachander.

He adds that the idea of putting together the ‘Dasara’ doll display is to familiarise the younger generation to the traditional mode of celebrating the festival.

“Every member of the house contributes to arranging the ‘Dasara’ doll collection. Right from unwrapping the dolls to arranging them according to a theme is done by us all,” he adds.