Dolls enliven Dasara

‘Nammavaru - Mangaluruvasi Hale Mysuru Vipra Koota’ is one such association that tries to capture the essence of Dasara with its unique collection of dolls and hence introduce this tradition to the Mangaloreans.

Speaking to City Herald, Organising Secretary of Nammavaru Sangha M S Gururaj says the main aim of the organisation is to give the Mangaloreans a taste of the rich culture and hence the association is on a spree of collecting dolls. It is the fourth year the association has organised this exhibition and it has received an overwhelming response from the people, he adds.

The Nammavuru Association is made up by the members of ‘Vipra Koota,’ a Brahmin community who originally hail from old Mysore region but have migrated to DK district in search of jobs. The association has put in all efforts and has collected over 300 dolls and exhibited them beautifully in nine steps indicating Navaratri.

Doll collection

The unique doll collection has ‘Pattada Bombe’ as its key piece. ‘Pattada Bombe’ is passed on to a girl during her wedding and it indicates the king and queen.

Dashavathara, Krishna Leela, Ashta Lakshmi, replica of the Srirangapattana temple, representation of incidents from Ramayana and Mahabharatha, Chamundi hills, Mysore Dasara procession, chariots, palanquin, depiction of traditional wedding, village artisans are some of the collections.

“This year we have an international touch to our collection as we have acquired a set of dolls depicting the Shaolin art of China,” says Gururaj.

“Whenever I have to teach about Dasara tradition in school, I make the children arrange dolls in steps. This exhibition reminds me of my childhood days when I used to sing and dance in front of the dolls in different houses,” says Ramanandini who works as a school teacher.

“The dolls show us the spiritual concept along with social and cultural life. It also gives us a break from stressful life. In Mysore, doll collection has become a profession,” informs Sujatha Sudhakar.

The collection like no other is displayed in Nellikayi Raghavendra Mutt and is open for the public till October 17.