Kolu tradition lives on in this Chennai home

The GS Kalpakam household at Kasturi Estate displays its creativity with an aesthetically arranged kolu

Everything in the kolu arrangement at the home of 88-year-old GS Kalpakam at Kasturi Estate in Radhakrishnan Salai offers a mixed flavour of history, tradition and culture.

Three important life stages in the life of poet and saivite ascetic Kumaragurupara are shown through the kolu arrangement in the living room, which is not the usual set of steps with dolls on them, but a rich tableau featuring giant Gowri dolls made of wood.

Octogenarian Kalpakam brings vibrant storytelling to the figurines and dolls she has displayed. She notes her late mother-in-law Sundariammal imparted storytelling skills to her.

The Gowri dolls brought from Mysore to TT Srinivasamurti household, first in 1955, are showstoppers every year, along with a new theme that is chosen after a lot of research and deliberation.

Collective effort

While Kalpakam is the main architect of the kolu arrangement, she is helped by her daughter-in-law Gauri, daughter Mathangi, granddaughter Bhavani and others in the family.

Each of them takes up a different role. Tasks include dressing up the dolls with different attires, doing the backdrop, giving the voice-over and giving a digital touch to the display. The wooden bommais are unique as every part is dismantled after the Navarathri celebrations every year to be placed in boxes and taken out the next year.