Mylapore gombe in Mysuru Dasara

A shared passion for culture helped start a tradition

Facts are indeed stranger than fiction. A courtesy visit to a neighbour’s house to participate in the Dasara Gombe Habba or Gollu festivities on Maharnavami (Ayudha Puja) last year led me to an intriguing story. In 2016, G Vijaya, then in her mid-20s, was captivated by the art of Gollu and wanted to start the tradition of displaying dolls in her own home. However, her father, a resident of Vadapalani in Chennai, advised her that one should not initiate a new tradition without proper guidance. He suggested that she could start it if someone already following the tradition were willing to pass it on to her.

Not finding anybody in her own community, Naidu, or in her husband Vignesh’s Mudaliar community from Chindaripettai in Chennai, she took her search online. She searched for Gollus on a free classified marketplace mobile application and found an advertisement for the sale of these dolls. She contacted the seller over the phone and later met Aravind and his mother, an elderly Iyer lady, at their residence in Mylapore, Chennai. Aravind’s mother handed over four boxes containing around 30 dolls to Vijaya.

Vignesh was apprehensive, warning his wife that the dolls were exceptionally beautiful and beyond their expectations. Moreover, Aravind and his mother did not quote a price for the dolls. When Vijaya took custody of the boxes and asked about the cost, she was surprised by the response. Aravind’s mother replied that if Vijaya arranged the dolls during Navaratri and sent her a photo, that would be sufficient. Thus, Vijaya began celebrating Gollu during Navaratri in 2016. Just as Aravind’s mother shunned monetary gains but wished that the tradition must live on, Vijaya’s tribe of dolls has grown. 

In a happy turn of events, Vignesh mentioned that one of their neighbours in Mysuru, Sridevi Srivathsa, gifted a few of her treasured dolls in 2024 after learning about Vijaya’s efforts to celebrate Gombe Habba.

Vignesh regrets now that he cannot recall the grand old lady’s name and their efforts to contact them later were in vain. But credit is due to them. If
Indian culture has evolved and survived despite several cycles of changes and sweeping modifications in the belief systems and lifestyles, it is because of people like Aravind and
his mother, who selflessly contribute to its continuation.

To Vijaya, both Aravind and his mother were strangers. They both did not belong to the same community or social circle. However, they shared a common passion for culture. Technology and modern tools of communication, such as smartphones, the Internet, and mobile applications, brought like-minded individuals together, facilitating the continuation of traditions across geographies.

Now, Vijaya and Vignesh, residents of Sathagalli in Mysuru, continue to display the dolls they brought from Mylapore, Chennai.