A Journalist Reveals Creativity, Sustainability and Spirituality – We reveal the unrevealed.
This year, we at A Journalist Reveals are on the lookout for South Indians celebrating Navaratri with golu or koluvu. Somehow, my niece Tejaswini from Bangalore contacted me and said that she would be celebrating the festival in the said way (Tejaswini is the daughter of my paternal cousin Sampath Anna – late Rangavittal Uncle’s son). And we thought it would be just the right time to propagate our culture through the only medium we have in our hands. What fascinated us about her koluvu were the yearly themes that she chose to depict Innovative Navaratri Scenes.
Excerpts from an interview:
Since when are you involved in this activity?
I began this in 2014 when my first born turned 2.
How were you inspired into doing this activity?
I love everything about our festivals and this one has been my favorite as a small girl. I loved seeing the golu/doll setup in houses. Somehow with time, I lost the interest as I grew. But suddenly when I had a child of my own, I felt a growing desire to celebrate festivals and help him understand our culture. This festival helps me explore my creative side and it also helps that my husband and son are artistically inclined!
What kind of feeling do you get while doing this activity?
It’s exhilarating! Seeing the final setup, inviting friends and family over gives me immense pleasure. I also organize a gathering where ladies come and sing songs of the Devi. The house on these 10 days of Dasara is like heaven on Earth. Literally!
Who all are involved in this activity?
I get tremendous support from my husband and over the last two years, my son (now 6 years old) helps out too. Not to forget, my pillars of support, my parents, who are just a call away, to help out with anything – babysitting, decor or arrangement. I don’t think I could have done it without these people.
How do you make your golu different every year?
Every year I keep one section dedicated to my son and build a theme around something that has fascinated him in that year. 2014 was a theme with rhymes, 2015 was a Disney fairyland, 2016 was dinosaurs and evolution and 2017 was Lego City.
