GOLU HOPPING IN CHENNAI
- deepakavin
- Oct 4
- 3 min read
5 women + 3 Golus + 6 to 9 PM Chennai traffic = Navarathri Adventure!!!
Why do it? ‘Coz it promised the most fulfilling Golu Hopping moments for each of us.
For those who need an introduction to “Golu” – It is a display of dolls in South Indian homes as part of the 9 day festival of Navaratri.
The three Golus we visited were unique.
Sowmyalakshmi’s home in Velachery had these dolls showing different incidents from the epic Ramayana. But our eyes were drawn to the perfect doll house created by Saahiti, her 11 year old daughter. Yes, Saahiti hand stitched most of the furniture and please do notice the blue sewing machine!! She intends to embellish it further for the next Golu.
The Vintage dolls were handed over through generations, while the other sets spoke of all the places this family has travelled to, especially the red sandalwood Marapaachi set from Thiruchanoor.
Ramalakshmi’s Golu in Thoraipakkam had an appealing theme – Yoga Triveni Sangamam. Her dolls depicted Bhakti, Gnana and Karma Yoga of Bhagawad Gita using stories from mythology. To keep it current and relevant for the younger generation, her dolls also spoke of how the same concepts are inculcated in today’s world. We felt so elevated listening to the spiritual concepts she had used to curate her Golu.
Our Trendsetter Babu had been waiting super patiently for us to arrive at his home in Shastri Nagar, which finally happened at 9.40 PM. Yes, very late, but we are a committed lot and determined to reach the finish line, come what may!!
Babu’s golu arrangement took us back to our childhood. These were dolls of a vintage era, so perfectly made and a rarity now. His live Ragi crop patch around a hill temple was original!!!
Golus are more than dolls. They involve traditional clothes like sarees, yummy food, music and camaraderie. We feasted on sundal, fig sweets, bakharwadi, sarkarai pongal, pazham pori, puliyotharai and pepper appalam throughout the evening. And took second and third helpings of the puliyotharai (tamarind rice) made by Babu’s Amma, such a perfect blend of spices!!
Traditionally we sing at Golus, so when we were planning for this visit, we circulated a tiny list of possible songs to sing together. We were prepping to showcase our talent in Rama’s house when we heard the voice of another guest, who is a music teacher. We simply exchanged “No, No, No” nods. Later in Babu’s home, he insisted on songs. Darshana sang Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s composition Panchasad Peeda Roopini which turned out to be on the wish list of Babu’s Amma. Our Bangla Behn Senjuti enthralled us with her beautiful rendition of “Sinhasta Shashi Sekhara” and that capped our Golu singing.
Thank you dear Shaktis, each of you coming from such distant parts of Chennai, and making this Navaratri an epic adventure. Niveda in an autorickshaw from road work - ridden Porur, Hemalatha taking an MRTS train from Royapettah, Darshana from Nungambakkam using the Chennai Metro plus a Rapido bike!! She was running late, so decided the bike will poonthufy through the traffic faster. Poonthufy means move through. I could have used the latter but this tanglish word gives a better visual😊. Her bike rider understood her need for speed and kindly offered to wait while she visited Sowmya’s home and then brought her to Ramalakshmi’s home to join the rest of us. The return to our respective homes was less dramatic, simply booking autorickshaws, the last person reaching their home after 11 pm and each of us messaging the others that they are back in their nest.
This is what festivals are all about. The togetherness and sharing brings so much joy and prosperity. We become richer by adding these wonderful moments to our memory bank. Looking forward to our next Golu Cart in second week of October, 2026.
Hopefully by 2026 the metro lines will all be ready and wading through the traffic will be easier! Saahiti made the dolls house with discontinued catalogue fabrics of upholstery. It was a pleasure hosting you all🙏