CHENNAI: Navaratri is as much about personal memories and family traditions as it is about rituals. For some, it means bringing out dolls passed down through generations; for others, it recalls childhood celebrations, books placed in the pooja room and visits to teachers. These memories give the festival a meaning that extends beyond the nine days, connecting generations through objects, stories and practices that continue to be cherished.
For historian Meenakshi Devaraj, Ayudha Pooja, observed on Mahanavami in the state, brings back vivid childhood memories. The day is dedicated to expressing gratitude for the tools and objects used in everyday life, from the traditional aruvalmanai (vegetable cutter) to the uppu jaadi (salt container). “Much like Pongal, I remember how the entire house would be cleaned, and manjal and kungumam would be applied to almost everything possible, including doors, cupboards, the gas stove and more,” she recalls.
As a child, it was one of her favourite festivals. All the books at home would be placed in the pooja room for a day, which meant that the children were not expected to study. “All our books would be placed in the pooja room for a day, and nobody could ask us to take them out and study!” she says. The pooja for the family’s vehicles was another highlight, followed by a small amount of money that made the occasion even more exciting.
Among these memories, one object stands out: a tiny Saraswathi idol in her family home, believed to be more than a hundred years old. It would be placed on top of the books during the pooja. “As a child, I never truly appreciated her beauty. Today, I look at her with a different eye, admiring her beauty and the memories she brings back of Ayudha Pooja celebrations from my childhood,” she says.
After marriage, a Ravi Varma painting of Saraswathi became the centrepiece of Meenakshi’s Ayudha Pooja celebrations. The following morning, on Vijayadashami, a special pooja would be performed early, after which the children would be woken up and asked to sit down to study, marking an auspicious beginning to learning once again.
For Aruna Anand, Navaratri has always been a celebration of womanhood and community. She believes the festival brings women together regardless of their age or marital status. “Navaratri is an emblematic festival. Irrespective of whether you have Navaratri in your house or are part of a religious tradition, you are always part of the celebration. It was always a festival where you celebrate womanhood. You don’t see the marital status or age; you invite women and celebrate women. That’s always something that I grew up with and something I truly believe in,” Aruna says.
Although the family she married into does not have a golu tradition, her maternal family has preserved it across generations. Many of the dolls in her mother’s collection were inherited from earlier generations and brought from their ancestral village in Chittur, Palakkad. “Navaratri is not only of a religious tone; it is a show and tell of the family as well,” she says.
The collection reflects the artistic influences and tastes of another era. Alongside traditional clay and papier-mâché figures are porcelain dolls depicting mythological characters and animals. Aruna also remembers a porcelain tea set that children would play with. Some of these fragile objects have broken over the years, but the surviving dolls continue to be part of the family’s annual display.
Aruna is particularly fascinated by the colours and proportions of the older dolls. Unlike many contemporary figures, which often feature brighter colours and accentuated cheeks, these dolls have muted pastel shades and delicate features. “In those days, all the colours were very muted. Now, they are much more eye-catching, with brighter colours. The dolls of those days had pastel blues and pastel pinks, which are very different from the colour palette of today,” she says.
She believes the dolls offer clues to the artistic influences of their time, including European paintings and Ravi Varma’s lithographs. The proportions of the figures also interest her, particularly the way women described in classical poetry appear to have been represented in their forms. Her family takes care to preserve the heirlooms with minimal restoration, retaining their original character.
The marapachi bommai, a traditional pair of wooden dolls, remains another important part of their golu. On Vijayadashami, after the concluding pooja, the dolls are symbolically put to sleep until the next Navaratri. “On the tenth day of Navaratri, after you finish your Vijayadashami pooja, the first two dolls that are put to sleep are the marapachi bommai. You put them to sleep, Navaratri is over, and the dolls go into hibernation till the next year,” she explains.
Other familiar elements include the Dasavataram series and gowri bommai, figures whose body parts can be arranged in different positions and dressed according to the mythological scene being presented. Traditionally, golu displays largely depicted stories from mythology, with families using dolls to recreate familiar narratives. Today, displays increasingly incorporate contemporary ideas, social themes and visual storytelling.
For Aruna, the festival’s appeal goes beyond the display itself. It is also an opportunity to meet people, dress up in sarees, wear jewellery and enjoy the company of friends and family. “I prepare a mix of sweet and savoury offerings over the nine days, alternating between sundal and sweets such as kesari. Paal boli is another preparation I make at least once during the festival. When you take up traditions, it is nice to add your own personal element. It ensures that it becomes yours as well and you are not just doing it mechanically,” she says.
Dr Lakshmi Ramaswamy, a Bharatanatyam exponent and teacher, associates Navaratri with a lesson her parents, Sundari and Jayakrishnan, taught her while growing up: gratitude. Besides setting up the family pooja room in Tirunelveli, visiting golu displays and dressing as Radha and Krishna with her cousins, she remembers the importance her family placed on meeting teachers during the festival. “Amma used to carefully gather things, with personal attention to each of my teachers, like sarees and other auspicious things. Meeting teachers during class is altogether a different set-up. Meeting them on this auspicious day and making them happy was precious,” she says.
For Lakshmi, Mahanavami is a time to pray to Jaganmatha, reflect on the past and cultivate gratitude for the good things in life while looking forward to new beginnings. Seeing her own students express that gratitude brings her a sense of fulfilment. “When some of my students who spend full time in dance, like Jagyaseni Chatterjee, learn to reciprocate the gratitude and greet me with true love, I think life beautifully comes full circle,” she says.