Showcasing Dasara Dolls

Showcasing dolls during Dasara is a traditional practice of our royal city since the regime of Mysore Maharajas. Even today most households in Mysore find time to display dolls during Dasara.
On the eve of Dasara every year, Ramsons Kala Pratishtana also holds Bombe Mane expo at its Pratima Gallery, Opp. Mysore Zoo, which will conclude tomorrow.
Here we take you to some of the households, where a variety of dolls collected over the years from various parts of the country are on display:
S. Banumathi Sundareshan, working at DC office, who is displaying dolls since many years, says: "It was my strong ambition to display the dolls and keep the festival alive as ours is a cultural city. On seeing the dolls on display, the new generation will come to know about our traditional practice observed during Navaratri."
In Banumathi's collections, Goddess Durga occupies the topmost platform while other dolls are arranged in descending order. Apart from this, the model of High Court, H1N1, Godess Madurai Meenakshi, Sharadamma, replicas of trees and government schemes like distributing cycle for girls, serving hot meals in schools are the new additions to her collection of dolls this year. Shivalinga made from coconut shell is eye-catching. Many dolls displayed here are 40-years-old. She is helped by her husband Sundareshan and family members.
Banumathi has many prizes to her credit and was also awarded 'Sthree Kala Shakthi' title by the city-based Sthree Shakthi Mahila Prathishtana, headed by novelist Mangala Satyan, which conducts Dasara Dolls Show contest every year. Hundreds of traditional and heritage dolls will be on display at Banumathi's residence 'Sougandhika', CH-58, 5th Cross, Saraswathipuram [Mob: 99866-43423] till Oct. 29.
Hemalatha Kumaraswamy, an employee of Zilla Panchayat, is displaying her doll collection since 20 years at her residence in Agrahara near 101 Ganapathi Temple. She has decorated her house with different mythological dolls. Dolls of gods, goddesses in which some of them depict the art and culture of India — Krishnavatara, Srirama Pattabhisheka, Lanka Dahana, Samudra Manthana, Vaikunta, Mahabalipuram, Tirupathi temple and many more, add beauty to her collections. Models of KRS dam, Kailasa, Chamundi Hill, Subramanyaswamy Temple, Nali-Kali (Govt. Scheme), Naga-rahole, Jog Falls, Dasara procession, Chamarajendra Circle and Krishnarajendra Circle made of thermocol are the new additions to her collections which attracts the visitors.
Hemalatha, who has also won Sthree Kala Shakthi, Kalata-paswi, Kalashakthi and many more awards, says the dolls on display has a story woven around them and it would rouse the interest of the kids viewing the dolls to learn more about the traditional practice and the stories connected with them.
Hemalatha has displayed more than 1,500 dolls in her house. She is helped by her husband Kumaraswamy, a BSNL employee. She can be contacted on Mob: 94482-08539.
Replicas of great leaders like Gandhiji, Shivaji, Ambedkar, saints, social reformers and Ashtalakshmi (eight types of Lakshmi), Dashavatara of Vishnu, birth of Lord Krishna and his childhood along with other gods and goddesses in dancing postures brought from various States are on display at the residence of G.R. Jayashree on 13th Cross, Saraswathipuram. [Mob: 94480-54236].
Jayashree’s husband C. Nagaprasad, who is also interested in arranging dolls, has done the statue of Lord Venkateshwara as Brah-motsava is ongoing in Tirupati.
"Apart from our friends, relatives and neighbours, people from different parts of the city are visiting our residence to see the dolls," says Nagaprasad.
[Tuesday 29th September 2009]