Here’s Where You Can Buy Gods, Demons and Filter Coffee

‘Give me Karthikeya and his two wives’; What you might hear at Mylapore’s doll market. A few stories before sunset.

Give me Murugan’s two wives, a Kumbhakarna and a puberty ceremony scene. Also a Chota Bheem set.

Things you’ll hear at Mylapore’s Doll Market

It was brisk business for about a week. But as Navarathri begins, the sun sets on the hundred odd ‘Golu’ doll shops that line Mylapore’s main street. Artisans and shopkeepers from Kanchipuram, Vellore, Panrutti and Cuddalore wait for the stragglers.

‘You should shoot from the other side, you’re against the light’. Meyappan isn’t really in the mood to smile. That doesn’t mean I was allowed to take a bad photo. His dolls aren’t hand-made. Not many are, nowadays. It’s too costly to transport, and most of his customers can’t tell the difference between beautiful and passable anyway.

Despite the waning crowd of customers, Mylapore’s South Mada Street is plagued by traffic. Cars, cows, people and stores vie for space, especially on weekends. The melee of sounds and the smell of fresh idlis, sambar and filter coffee create a sort of sweet isolation. You’ll feel all alone in the crowd, and you’ll enjoy the feeling.

The dolls or sets of dolls isn’t random. Each signifies a particular tradition or concept. Horses, for example signify the senses, which are to be reigned in. Mahavishnu is either painted blue or black to denote the infinite. There will also most definitely be a ‘ravana’ or ‘kunbhakarna’ in the set, to signify that good and evil are both equally divine.

A woman reaching puberty is considered a second birth of sorts in many Tamil and Telugu homes. In some cases, horoscopes are altered to begin on this day, instead of the day the girl was born. It’s a day of physical discomfort and unwanted attention for the woman. For the family, though, it is an emotional event; ‘My daughter is all grown up!’ for some, and ‘It’s time to start saving for her marriage’, for others.

The ‘Golu’ tradition implies that everything that has form, is the Mother. From the myriad beings and deities on the Temple ‘Gopuram’ to the sand and cardboard ‘fields’ and hills in South Indian households at the base of their Golu arrangements, the Mother is everywhere.