Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Golu decoration during Navratri in South India

Nine days to celebrate the win of Lord Sriram over Ravana, nine days to worship Ma Durga, Saraswati and Laxmi and nine days of reverence, prayer, get- together and fun. Navratri culminating in Dussera is a major festival time for all Hindus across India.

In South India, there is a custom of displaying various idols and dolls on steps which are called Golu Padi. 'Padi' meaning steps.These steps can be either be 9,7,5 or 3. Generally these idols are passed from one generation to another.After the festival is over,the idols are well packed and stored away till the next year.Also, when a family starts the tradition,there might not be many dolls in the collection (though the scenario has changed considerably and people buy the whole set in one go from the market), so the existing dolls are displayed and a new one is added each year.
There are many variations now.Customs have been made flexible to accomodate for the changing lifestyle of people.
This is also the time when ladies ( considered to be the Goddess herself) are invited to all households,offered haldi-kumkum and of course, how can I forget the tasty' chundal' and sweets are offered as prasadam

Now, coming to the Golu aspect,elders and youngsters join together and decide on themes to add more appeal to the Golu decoration A little bit of enjoyment, while doing the serious stuff, doesn't do any harm you see!

I have put together certain eye catchy and attractive themes for you to follow.Have a look and enjoy the festival time.

A very happy Navratri to all and more power to all the women gang out there!

The traditional themes



Mythological characters are made alive in this themes.The characters can be Ram Lakshman and Sita during their stay in a jungle .Ravana can also be dispalyed in the Golu padi along with them.Here the eternal theme of 'Good wins over evil' is conveyed.
Again, Dashavatara or the ten incarnations of Lord Mahavishnu is also a very popular theme.
The Dashavatara includes Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasmiha,Vamana,Parashurama,Rama.Balarama, Krishna and Kalki

Durga kills the asur Mahishasur and is the universal theme in all the pandals in the East.

Wedding procession theme

A very interesting theme is the one depicting a marriage procession.The bride groom,palanquin and the baarat all form part of this concept. You can also break it into smaller parts like the following pic that only depicts the bride and groom taking the seven vows or the bride being adorned with henna



The village life

The huts and the surroundings can be easily crafted with the help of old cardboard boxes and real plants like herbs





Farm theme

 Use real mud in a tray and place the farmers and bullock cart, some faux trees, Popsicle stick for the fence etc and your farm is ready. These themes can be made in  addition to the main dolls and idols.
A little creativity ,out of the box thinking and loads of patience is required to make these attractive arrangements.






A temple theme












Chettiar and his wife

The chettiar and his wife form an essential part of the golu decoration .The chettiars are the merchant community and the Golu decoration always revolved around featuring the various communities in the society.



Modern take on Golu decorations

 This year am seeing a lot of Chotta bheem' bommais' or dolls in the market.Maybe to keep the spirits of the kids high.Similarly fairy tale themes for the girls can also be managed.

Themes featuring social messages have also become the norm of the day. Like in Bangalore saving the lakes and the traffic woes are relevant topics that one might chose to display.

Months in advance the preparations for Golu begins.If you have the relevant dolls ,they can be assembled and a theme can be laid out in no time but for certain elaborate concepts, there is lot of effort and time to be put in.

 Golu, I have always felt is a celebration to bring the family together. Enjoying the little DIY's that one can work upon as a whole unit, making yummy and Delicious sweets and savories and having a gala time in each other's company is the essence of any festival.

You can also have a look at the earlier published posts on Sajavat on Navratri and Golu here.








Friday, September 16, 2016

Ganpati decoration with warli theme!

These are images from my archives which I wanted to share with all of you.




 Warli art, as you know is a tribal art form of Maharashtra,immensely popular these days due to its simplicity and ease in understanding the concept.
They are drawings of everyday living of the tribal, also depicting the special occasions they celebrate.


Very thoughtfully conceptualized and used as a perfect backdrop for Ganesha this is the creation of Anjali Gadgil who is a commercial artist by profession.

Last year,when she bought the Mushikavahana home,she gave Him a warm welcome with this warli theme.

If you notice carefully,the drawing on the right hand side depicts Ganesha within home and all the festivity around Him.There is celebration, people dancing and singing, playing various instruments and apart from all these the daily activities happening in the lives of the common village man.





I have always enjoyed such decorations where there is a personal touch and a sign of our deep rooted culture and tradition. Am sure, Ganesha must have truly enjoyed his stay in such a wonderful setting. Don't you agree?

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Ganesha at my home-enjoying Flatlay aesthetic

 Hello there,have you all started the preparation for welcoming Ganesha in your abode? Its such a special and awaited event. Kids and adults enjoy the festival alike.Now, am not sure whether its for the yummy modak or because he is always believed to be kids-friendly!

Today I experimented with some Flatlay photography...Yes yes, the one that has caught Instagrammers in a wild frenzy:)

Although am not on Instagram,I wanted to give this aesthetic of photography a try.So here you go...I read about some basic rules of the same and here it is.

Choose a theme

Can the theme be anything better and bigger than Ganesha? So the theme that we have chosen is Ganpati and home styling

Focus on the subject

Ganesha within a bamboo frame


To ensure that the subject is given due importance the flatlay should not be cluttered.Enough space has to be maintained between each object in the flatlay

Have natural light

Nothing to replace natural light while taking a picture.So ensure thst there is enough natural light in the room.

Colour palette

Ganesha in red...is dancing with me :)  ???


It is better to have one colour palette and a basic background.

Use props

Ganesha loves nature!

Make the frame look attractive by adding props to the Flatlay that complements the subject.

These are some images of Ganesha around home today...Hope you liked my tips on Flatlay. Have a joyful celebration at home with family and friends.See you all soon.
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