Golu, the Navratri doll display of Tamil Nadu, Andhra (Bommala Koluvu) and Karnataka (Gombe Habba): the steps, which dolls go where, visiting, thamboolam and sundal.
A Golu on steps, with the Dashavatara, Vishnu's ten forms, among the dolls. Photo: Mandayamr, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
A Golu is built on an odd number of steps (padi): three, five, seven, nine, occasionally eleven.
A doll couple on a Golu display. Photo: GoDakshin from Bangalore, India, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Golu dolls (bommai) are traditionally clay or wood, painted by hand. Marapachi dolls, a carved wooden couple, are usually the first to go up; many are heirlooms handed from mother to daughter and dressed in new clothes each year.
Idols take shape in a workshop lane at Kumartuli, north Kolkata. Photo: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Each evening the lamp is lit, a short puja is done, and a neivedyam (food offering) is made.
Clay diyas lit for Diwali. Photo: Alokjain19883105, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.
On Navami, books and musical instruments are placed before the Goddess for Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja, and are not used until the next morning.
A Golu on steps, with the Dashavatara, Vishnu's ten forms, among the dolls. Photo: Mandayamr, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Golu and Bengal's Durga Puja meet in the same goddess and the same nine nights, but one is a home-made world of dolls and the other is a public festival in pandals.
A doll couple on a Golu display. Photo: GoDakshin from Bangalore, India, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons.
Golu, the Navratri doll display of Tamil Nadu, Andhra (Bommala Koluvu) and Karnataka (Gombe Habba): the steps, which dolls go where, visiting, thamboolam and sundal.
Golu → Next story: Navratri in Kolkata: a guide for every community All photo storiesMusic: Garba dance during Navaratri festival in Mehsana Gujarat India, Nizil Shah, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.