Happy Navarathri to everyone!
Every year around this time a couple of my posts on Navarathri and golu set up get a lot of hits.
This post is just a collection of these tips in one place:
I welcome you to our Golu this year. As they say in Tamizh, "Manjal kunkumam vaangikka vaango" (please come over to accept turmeric and vermillion"!
Let's start with the flowers:
The marrying folks, got married
.. and the Rajasthani quintet played along, while the displaced bricklayer, continued to be displaced!
On the other side of town, the Rajasthani immigrant couple had set themselves us nicely with a Chettiar store (yes, they are aware of the contradictions)
Meanwhile in the rural areas, it was business as usual:
with farmers ploughing the field
Cowherds, herding their cow:
More farmers plying their trade
Last year's harvest was so good, they even pitched in and bought a Spanish bull called Picasso
The hope was that the bull will prove useful in the fields.
But the bull turned out to only be interested in prancing, playing and dancing the tango!
You can see him hear, dancing behind the percussionists for the karagaattakkara troupe!
Although the karagattakkaras danced as per usual
the recent budget cuts meant that the props department was not functioning to full strength. The child artistes were not pleased.
Meanwhile.. in the nearby forest, the tribal folk had run out of most deer and were considering entering into trade agreements with the village folk
The town cricket championship was planned as per last year (see here), but last minute glitches implied that they had to play on some artificial turf. The match was proceeding well and in fact, a Bahamian Jazz duo were called in for the half time show
but... completely out of the blue, a disgruntled member of the football team from the nearby town, invaded the pitch and declared himself the winner of the match.
Imagine that! A football player the winner of a cricket match?? No amount of persuasion would make him sea reason.
All he would repeat was: You talkin' to me?
Most players were too stunned to say anything, but lay dazed, except for the bowler, who was literally too cut up about it!
The town folk decided that it will either have to be natural turf or nothing all, form next year on!
While all this commotion was going in the town cricket pitch, the ManEater of the local forest sauntered out of his lair and wondered: Now, which one should I pick for dinner tonight?
Watching all this, with Zen-like nonchalance was the main attractions, themselves:
Now, please partake of the goodies and see you all next year for the same festivities! Happy Navarathri!!
In the last post (click here) I identified some ways in which you can start your own "grass" for your golu. Here are some more ways in which you can "greenify" your golu.
1. Sod: If you have a backyard, you can always cut up a small patch of grass for your golu. Actual, real, grass. Grass as you know has a very shallow root system, so you don't really have to dig deep. This is what I landed up doing.
Line a shallow cardboard box with some plastic, sprinkle water regular -- but don't over water, you don't want to over water your plants. Most importantly leave it in a sunny place. If you don't have enough sunlight in your golu room, leave the light on during the day.
2. Artificial stuff: that green plasticky indoor outdoor carpet will be perfect for artificial grass, if you are into that sort of thing.
My own rural/forest scene was made from mustard sprouts, grass I dug up from the backyard, some snips of barberry shrubs (that made trees) a rock and some sand.
Tribal people hunting some deer. With a "mountain" in the back ground
the mustard seedlings that will become the fields
The mustard fields and the "puliyaattakkaran' procession on the village road the connects the forest to the clearing
Pitch perfect!
The karagattakkaran performance at the village clearing!
What kid does not want a park in their golu? Or a zoo? Or a cricket pitch? Every year, as a kid I used to fight for my rights to free space. In the context of golu of course, this would be a park, zoo, cricket pitch or all of the above.
When we were kids we used to use either whole moong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_bean) or mustard seeds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustard_seed) soaked in water and then sowed in a shallow pan of soil. Water it lightly regularly and you will have a glorious patch of turf for your golu needs. In Chennai, these things did not take long to grow and was the best quick fix solution. In the cooler climes of north america, though, it might take a little longer to grow these.
However, there are other options for the North American golu aficionado.
Moong or Mustard seeds: just as described above
Actual grass seeds: available, usually at the start of the Fall season at any garden or big box stores. Read germination time instructions and sow in doors in a large shallow potting dish (punch holes in the bottom for adequate drainage). Usually germination times are about 2 weeks. Remember you need them to be a little taller than new seedlings, so give ample time.
Onions/ Garlic: Bare root onions/garlic are often available around this time of the year. They can be sown in a pot and are fairly quick to "show their green". They tend to be slightly thicker than what you would call grass, but on the flip side, you could potentially get a harvest out of it later.
Cat grass: If you are in a pinch and have forgotten to sow anything in time, these things can come in handy. Any pet store carries them practically year round. Looks like grass: here are some pics for you of this thing: google images for cat grass. You may even find it in the pet aisle in grocery stores.
If you use any of these tips to create your patch of green for golu, I would love to hear from you.
The month of Navarathri (here was my last year's Navarathri write up and the golu) and Halloween is here. Yet, my mojo is not! Whatever has happened, I wonder. But I did drum up some enthusiasm to at least glue the broken bommais ("dolls"/"sculptures") back together.
The husband bought me some "dolls" for golu this year to increase my repertoire, so to speak. But since the packaging wasn't quite up to par, some of these guys arrived broken! Boo hoo!
Same thing happened with this guy carrying a pot (presumably one more of the karagattam entourage!)
But the lady with the pot on her head was not so lucky. She lost her head and the pot with it. Even with gluing she is not going to look whole. But, isn't that part of the charm of golu? Each "doll" carries the mark of its history.
But what upset me most was this lovely (I believe Rajasthan made) brick breaker. He lost his thumb and his hammer and it is quite the challenge to stick that back! And some of his broken bricks are rolling loose and will need some way to stick them back.
I think even he is a bit saddened. Don't you think?
