Golu Kondattam And The Media Frenzy In Chennai

Golu kondattam is the new fad since the past couple of years.

Our local weekly, the Adyar Times started this trend.
A team from this weekly newspaper would go visiting houses which display the navrathri dolls during this ten-day festival period and award the best kept ones with prizes and of course publish photos of the doll arrangements and the women who arranged them. There has been a competition among Adyarites to show off their best dolls since these past few years.

This year a bigger player, viz., The Hindu, in collaboration with many sponsors of prizes, have come visiting all over Chennai after short-listing applications to a sizeable 50, with great difficulty as reported in their daily newspaper.

Many families have spent good amounts on buying new dolls, selecting good themes, decorating their golus creatively with the help of all members contributing to the efforts. Many elderly ladies had a field day showing off their possesions handed down to them from their mothers and grandmothers.
The 1st prize winner was one such elderly lady who displayed dolls in three rooms and proudly said that was just a 'part' of her entire collection.

I recall those days when a certain Mrs.Rajam Murthy from Hyderabad - she is the wife of the famed Auditor (Samanda)Murthy of Murthy & Co, Hyderabad - displaying her golu. You may ask, 'So what?' All the dolls on display would be made, yes I repeat, hand 'made' by her!! What an artist. What creativity. I have yet to see anything matching her effort in this anywhere so far. She would work for a whole year except during rainy season with a theme, sculpted her works with paper pulps, plaster of paris, add fenugreek, crushed tamarind seeds to preserve them for posterity.
Each doll would involve a whole lot of process and she would sit to mould each piece and paint with so much care. Each piece would be a work of art. Mostly all her pieces would be theme based on stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc.
Yet she had so much patience to be at it for many years together.
All this besides taking care of a huge joint family and her own children numbering 8.
She had the full support and patronage of her husband.
There would not be anyone who would want to miss seeing her golu in Hyderabad, whether invited or not!
She donated a hand painted screen which serves as a backdrop to this day in the festivities held during Ramanavami celebrations at Keyes Girls' High School, Secunderabad.
I rang up my cousin to get more details on Rajam maami just now before I could publish this post. Here goes some more details.
She is no more. She passed away this year at age 92. May her soul rest in peace. But her works of art live on. The family has dedicated an entire floor to exhibit her dolls of all kinds with appropriate lights in a permanant way.

I always felt I should write about this great artist and sculptor and I did, but that never got published in the earstwhile weekly called the Eves' Weekly in the
1980s.
When I requested some pictures she obliged me by coming over to hand the same to me at home. That was like an honor for me that she found time to come home.
I felt so sad that my article about her in those days din't see light.
But now I am trying to do justice by writing in my blog and dedicating it as a tribute to her immense creativity but sadly after she's no more. Better late than never. It was dasera and the golu kondattam that triggered this blog about the great artist.

By the way their house is on Basheerbagh, near Lady Hydri Club and next to a small Kali temple, if at all one is interested in seeing the range of hand made dolls on a permanant display while at Hyderabad.

Happy Dasera to all of you. May the goddess bless you to be victorious in all your endeavours.
I have the Lalitha Saharanamam to recite for tonight.
Until next.

Mahalakshmi.

Overcoming Pain or Sickness!

For the past few days I have had to put up with a bad cold and slight fever.
But I cannot lie down in bed to rest as that's not my style. I just go about my routines like cooking, eating lightly though and going to office, etc.

There is terrible pain in the throat but that hardly prevents me from reciting the Lalitha Sahasranamam during these festival days of navratri. I just silently pray without straining my voice.

I also spend time reading magazines which are delivered at my door step every alternate day so that my mind does not dwell too much on pain or sickness. I read 2 magazines and feel a bit alright now - enough to write this blog.

I remember my paternal aunt, whom we called Baby athai. She has been my role model whenever I have not felt well. In fact my father himself never used to lie down when he had pain or was sick.

Baby athai once was in such great pain after removing her wisdom tooth that she decided to take me and my younger sister along with her to the movie 'Phir Wohi Dil Laaya Hoon' starring Joy Mukherjee and Asha Paresh running at Royal or Dilshad talkies in Hyderabad. Oh what lovely and melodious songs were there in this movie. It was a treat to hear the great Rafi Saab and Asha Bhonsle sing so many beautiful songs and who can forget the evergreen music of our O.P.Nayyar saab.
We all sat at the theatre but I would steal a glance at Baby athai to see if she was in pain. She may have been, but all that she would give away was to hold a cloth on that side of her face and no noise of any kind would come out of her. She would buy us the popcorn and ice-creams but she would refrain from having them herself.

What a way to forget her pain I wondered but it must have left a deep mark on my psyche. I am able to tide over my own pain and aches by diverting my mind off it but I don't go to the movies to do that. Instead I forget myself by reading the latest magazines.

There is a remedy for pain besides taking those prescribed medicines!

Cheers!
Mahalakshmi

Singaara Chennai

About 15 years ago our lane was unwalkable after a light drizzle.
The garbage would be overflowing. Rarely would the municipal lorries come to clear it.
Rains would make it even worse to navigate roads everywhere.
Cows, dogs, crows would fight for leftovers in plastic bags near the dump.
Dogs and crows would use ingenous techniques to pry open a tightly knotted plastic bag to look for some edibles.

I remember reading in the newspapers about Mayor Stalin's, (Kalaingar's son) offical visit to Singapore. From then on, he has strived to make a difference to Chennai. He took upon himself and declared to make Chennai into Singaara Chennai.
First he worked to get the garbage cleared through a private agency which saw positive results in many key areas. New garbage with automatic clearing systems in lorries were seen for the first time in this part of the world.
That was a very good attempt at cleaning up the city. He did initiate a lot of drives such as this one to make the city a better place to live.
Our street got cleaned up regularly.
The cows disappeared though the dogs and crows continue their search for food from half empty fibre glass garbage bins now.
Of course, he has graduated to the post of deputy chief minister from a Mayor yet the good work seems to carried on by the present incumbent Mayor Subramanian which is mention worthy.
Chennai needs lung space and public parks are springing up everywhere possible which is a very good initiative.

Another commendable positive action is to remove encroachments from the roadside.
If pursued to its end without succumbing to any kind of pressure whatsoever from anyone, it should free all our roads.

The message should be to have a place for everything and not allow a place for everything, everywhere and anywhere!

Of course there are things remaining to be done but the process has well begun and constant follow ups are taking place.

I personally see a bright future for this young leader, as his actions are loud and clear. Anything for the betterment of the city is most welcome by the public.

Cheers.
Mahalakshmi.