Navrathri brings back all the wonderful memories of dolls arranged neatly in the pre-constructed steps, going from house to house inviting them for kolu, and the 'sundal' packets given away in every house. I remember shopping with my Pati every year around the Mylapore tank looking for the prefect and the latest set of dolls for display. The Marapachi bommais resplendent in silk will occupy centrestage.
Not at such a grand scale as that in my Patis house, but in my own small way I started working towards the Golu a week back. I well knew that the dolls will not stay in their steps even for a few hours as Aditi would pull them all down in a jiffy as soon as she sets eyes on them. As Formula1 is the latest craze at home, I decided to put up a F1 show and bought a few racing cars. Golu is never complete without a park and the fish tank. So made the swing, see-saw and slide for the park. The rest of the steps were adorned by Aditi's toys.
My Pati would invite 9 kanya girls and 9 ladies for lunch on a friday and give them clothes and other accessories. Unfortunately I could not find so many girls and hence invited our friends home for dinner and vettlai pakku.
And yes, Aditi loves to pull them down and pick her favorite toy and play with it.
