Dasara toy arrangements get a creative twist, and a Covid theme

Dolls at the Dasara Gombe Mane store in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru. Credit: DH Photo/Pushkar V

This toy arrangement at a home in Srinagar depicts social-distancing among others. Credit: DH Photo/Pushkar V

After a dull Navarathri in 2020, Bengalureans are celebrating the festival with great enthusiasm this year.

The tradition of toy arrangement, which is quite popular in the old Mysuru region, has gotten some creative twists this time around, especially among youth. DH spoke to a section of enthusiasts about their preparations for this year’s festivities.

Pavan, a Srinagar resident who arranges toys on a particular theme ever year, is telling the story of how people’s lives have changed after Covid-19.

Among the things he’s highlighted are a professional working from home and cutting vegetables at the same time, scenes from a Covid hospital and the horror at crematoriums.

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Pavan says he’s trying to encourage people to take the Covid vaccine and return to a normal life.

Pavan has been arranging toys since he was in the seventh grade. “It is a way of blending creativity with our culture,” he says.

Pavan, who’s collected toys for years, also uses thermocol for some of his settings and gets some of them 3D-printed.

Eighty-year-old Tirumalachar Purohit has been arranging toys for decades now. He says it’s a beautiful and colourful way to protect India’s cultural heritage. “We are from Mysuru, and we have been carrying on this tradition for hundreds of years now,” he says. Purohit has a large treasure of toys passed down the generations, he adds.

Also Read | S M Krishna inaugurates Mysuru Dasara 2021

At his house, this year’s toy arrangements include a detailed depiction of traditional Indian wedding rituals and recreations of Krishna’s life. He’s also recreated the Vishwarupa Darshan with electrical settings, he says.

Businesses dealing in Dasara toys and dolls are reporting higher sales compared with the last year.

Kumar, from Dasara Gombe Mane in Basavanagudi, said sales this year had reached 75-80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, up from 50-60 per cent in 2020.

“People from all over Bengaluru come to our shop to buy toys,” he said. Among the hot-selling items are toys that depict the life of Hindu deity Rama, he added.

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