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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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Navaratri 2015 : Family Kolus

You have seen the Bommai Kolu we have kept at our home. You have seen a few of the Devis who have captured my attention during my travels. The last few days have been ultra busy, visiting friends and relatives, and hosting a few at our home. Today, let me share with you two of the most impressive Kolus from our family..... The first one is the one kept by my mom and aunt....




They do an impressive job, and its apparent where I get the interest and the creativity from :) Here is their effort this year....

The steps...

Manu-needhi Chola holding court
A marriage set

Band Baaja

Rama and Sita with Lakshman and Hanuman (not in order), a set we bought at Tirupati, years ago! They are so beautifully carved, they were hard to resist!

Assorted vessels and scenes

A whole collection of Marapachis. Samhith had fun counting them!

These aren't store bought, but made by my aunt! And these are just a few!! 

The second one is a new one for me, kept by Shankar's niece, Aparna. It was our first visit to their home for Navaratri post her marriage, and we were blown away by their dolls! Samhith spent quite some time simply sitting by their Kolu, admiring the huge and beautiful dolls! Here is a glimpse.  

An overview of their golu.. simply beautiful! 

This one was my favourite! 
A closer look at the steps

Viswaroopa Darshanam, as shown by Krishna to Arjuna

Aala-elai Krisna... so beautiful! Wish I had the space to keep such huge dolls!


And here is their unique touch! Decorated with handmade jewelry... Yes, we have lots of creative people in the family!!

And finally, a look at the whole set up..

Though there are many kolus I have seen this year, these are the only two from the family I will be posting this year, since I, rather surprisingly, forgot to take my camera along to most homes! 

Also, this year, we miss Mr. Swamy's superb arrangement, since he has shifted to his hometown. There are still a few I have to visit, like the ones at Fine Arts and our local Mariammman Temple, and I shall post photos as and when I do so.... 

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  1. chitraOctober 19, 2015 at 9:35 AM

    Happy Navarathri Anu, love ur kolu pics

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ranjana's craft blogOctober 19, 2015 at 8:28 PM

    I love this festival. We don't have this tradition. But every Navaratri I don't miss to go to the street where they sell dolls. Loved the arrangements here. You are right, you have many creative people in your family.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownOctober 19, 2015 at 10:13 PM

    The vishwaroopa darshanam is really a very beautiful set! Hard to find such what we call "kalai" in dolls they make today :)
    I was also hoping you would put up the photos of that uncle's creation.... The one who made a replica of rasika ranjani sabha n railway

    Kanthi

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