Navrathiri, Golus and Sundal - Memory trip down the lane

It's Navrathiri time for the next 10 days or so and as usual poojas, vathillai pakku visits, small little gifts, name sake Golus along with the silk Sari mamis must be busy back home though the intensity and the fun of olden days no longer seems to be there. Just thought of recapping my memories of this lovely festival celebrated by our community

During Mid 70's when I used to be 5-6 years I remember the Golu at my native place Arni which had a traditional 7 step golu with the added flavor of 'Bommalattam' from behind the old sarees doubled up as a kind of curtain for the kids and different varieties of sundal and what was the flavour of the day was a huge surprise debated in hushed tones by the Mami's so that duplication doesn’t take place. A dug up small water tank called 'kulam'was an added attraction. When we came to Chennai it became bit subdued though the mela continued with multiple visits to invited places and slowly but steadily colorful cards printed in style became the source of invitation instead of simple post cards and the gifts also became bit costlier as a status symbol moving away from the traditional blouse bits

But the best part was during my Bahrain tenure when all the husbands became glorified Chauffeurs driving the silk sari mamis after coming back from office to at least 5-7 houses per day and by the fourth or fifth day the stomach had gone for a toss reverberating with the after effects of the sundal smell all over the place and we used to shudder at the thought of managing the balance days. Some houses still used to convert their hall shelf with some Teddies and Barbies as a poor substitute for the actual Golu toys and I remember one particular house who always hosted a grand buffet for the Golu and that was the last stop to finish off the dinner and head back home tired and exhausted while the women folk used to have a quick analysis of the gifts for the day

In Dubai as is the case with the place itself there is more hype with appointments confirmed over mail /ecards or cell phones and there is hardly any trace of golu at all in any of the houses. It became more of a social visit for the close friend’s houses in the midst of chaotic traffic and no way more than 2 houses could be covered with the only point of interest being what the gift was supposed to be and when we would go back home.

So Navratiri slowly but steadily like any other traditional festival seems to be losing it's charm and getting accustomed and adjusted to the modern day time pressure and stress with it's own innovations.

RK