Navrathri Golu or Golu pandigai also known as Bommai Golu ( for Tamizhians) and Bommala Koluvu (in Telugu) is India’s doll festival.
A festival spanning nine days, Golu pandigai is a great occasion to indulge in family time, interact with friends and neighbours, and be a part of spiritual endeavours.
In fact, Hinamatsuri ā the doll festival of Japan, is very similar to this ancient Hindu custom of dolls’ display called Navratri Golu , which is also called simply as Golu, by the Tamil people.
If you are looking for information on Navarathri, how it is celebrated in southern India, and would love to understand the concept of Golu, then you have come to the right place.
Through this post, let me take you on a virtual guided tour of Golu hopping ā from preparatory days to the finale; as I share some personal anecdotes, back-stories of the Golu festival as well as interesting golu themes and golu decoration ideas.
Also, over the years, I have been repeatedly asked about where to buy Navaratri Golu doll sets ā a point that’s also been covered in this write-up.

Firstly, let me answer the often asked questions about the Golu festival.
Content in this article
What is Navrathri Golu or Navratri Golu?
While Navrathri (Navratri) across the rest of India is often associated with ritualistic worship or garba or Durga Puja, the local populace of TamilNadu celebrates it as a ‘nine-day dolls festivalā of Navrathri Bommai Golu ( sometimes also called as Kolu Bommai), in which bommai stands for doll, golu or kolu for display and pandigai means festival.
Golu is celebrated as Bommala Koluvu in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and as Bombe Habba in Karnataka during the months of September-October based on the Hindu Lunar calendar.

What are the dates for Navarathri Golu 2023/ Navaratri Golu 2023 / Bommai Golu 2023?
The dates for celebrating Navarathri Golu or Bommai Golu this year: Starts on 15 October 2023, Sunday and ends on 24th October 2023, Tuesday.
And, trust me when I say that Tamil Nadu is the best place to experience Golu pandigai. So why don’t you plan an elaborate trip to Tamil Nadu with this curated tour ?
Paucity of time? Then may be, you could do the tour of Mylapore neighbourhood in Chennai.
If you are visiting the city during the Navarathri season, then do opt for one of the guided tours to explore the Chennai city. You will be surprised to learn about Chennai in a new perspective.
Also, here are a few guided tours of Mylapore in Chennai, which I found during my research on ways to explore this metropolitan. You could consider these especially during the Navarathri. That would be a double whammy then!
Now that, we know what is Golu pandigai all about, let me share with you a few anecdotes related to the festivities around Bommai Golu.

Nostalgia around Golu pandigai during Navrathri
Navrathri Golu gains importance and prominence among festivals, especially in traditional Tamizh homes.
My fondest childhood memories of this Golu festival are around the times I spent with my (late)grandpa, during the preparatory days leading to Navaratri : when as a family we indulged in house-cleaning, unpacking boxes marked as āGoluā that had dolls of every colour, size, and shape, and setting the golu.
Of course, dusting umpteen sets of dolls ( made of clay), wax-made shining fruits and vegetables for display, arranging Golu Bommai (dolls and toys) by segregating them into sections titled zoo, school, park et al, and chalking out a list of prasadam(offerings to God) for the next nine days as part of the routine was a fixture during Navaratri!
All this bommala kolu frenzy was often immersed in melodious Indian Classical, Hindustani and Carnatic songs that the good old cassettes inserted into the now-defunct Phillips tape-recorder churned out; the tunes of which pervaded our home, day in and day out and alleviated to unbearable levels during these festive seasons.

You may want to know about the making of the Golu dolls. Do read on…
Navarathri Golu Dolls – Bommai Golu
Many of the golu bommai or dolls are usually passed on as a family legacy and possession from one generation to another.
So, the preparatory days of ours also included moments of letting out a meek shriek ā on discovering one or two of the favourite dolls, dismantled after its year-long hibernation inside cartons, and a bit of brooding over the loss of the precious piece!
Yes! These clay-based eco-friendly golu bommai or dolls are displayed once a year during Bommai Golu. And, then packed and secured on lofts to be unpacked and displayed again the next year during Navratri and Golu festival.
It is a cyclic process, and I always wondered if it represents the cycle of life and death!
The fun of implementing Navrathri Golu ideas
As kids, once done with elementary chores, we took up one activity each day to put forth our best for the finale of Navarathri. There was no dearth of Golu festival ideas.
Foremost was growing grass for the greenery that pervades Golu. And, mustard seeds were much sought after to make mini tableaus of lawns, weeds, and forests.
We preferred mustard over others, as the former sprout shoots quickly, while resembling a lush grassland.
But, we didn’t grow mustard first, at least not before earmarking places for the crocodile pond, wildlife safari, and childrenās park around which handfuls of soil were usually spread to seed the mustards.
The enclosures were then filled with tiny figurines of birds, animals, vehicles, and humans.


Another constant in my family’s bommai golu was the miniature theppakulam (pond) made of a water beaker that had floating mandapams.
I remember making these mandapams with the help of my mom and thatha (grandpa) by cutting and pasting the thermocol sheets together and then embellishing it with colourful ribbons, pieces of mirrors, motifs, and shimmers.
This was to complement the majestic looking colourful-clay Gopuram (Indian temple tower) with some devotees and saints sitting pretty as dolls. With this the temple set-up was complete. A perfect Golu idea theme around temples and spirituality!

The significance of Bommai Golu during Navaratri
Durga-Puja and Dussehra festivals during the Navaratri season are quite well known and celebrated on a large scale, thus, hogging the limelight; while the humble and simple Navaratri Golu pandigai or the Golu festival of south-India remains obscure.
So, come with me as I take you through the realms of time around this festival of south-India that gets usually confined to households, clustered societies, and temples.

The story behind Golu Pandigai and Navrathri

The celebration of the Golu festival
Transcending time and aeons, the very same triumphant moment is recreated in households today across South India as Bommai Golu through a display of dolls. It is akin to invoking the celestial beings into our homes to celebrate and re-emphasize that good ultimately wins over evil.

The Bommai Golu dolls – Marapacchi Bommai
In TamilNadu, a bride is presented with ‘Marapacchi Bommai’ (wooden figurines)of a man and a woman representing a couple, on her wedding day as part of the wedding trousseau, to herald the tradition of Golu at her in-law’s place.
These wooden dolls symbolize prosperity and fertility and kickstart the bride’s Gollu collection.

What are the other Navarathri dolls that are displayed?
Apart from the marapacchi bommai, dolls that are displayed during Bommai Golu involve the ones representing mythological characters, celestial beings, and the Hindu pantheon. Poets and saints and sometimes, freedom fighters, too, find a place in this extravaganza.
A staple among these is the Chettiar bommai, a pair of wobbling headed couple, who represent the trader community of Chettiars and look adorable.


Where to buy the Navaratri Golu dolls and doll sets?
It is customary to include a new doll in the Navaratri Golu collection every year. So, a trip to the local market, days in advance, is the norm just before every Golu pandigai in most households.
Nowadays, Golu dolls and golu doll sets are available online.
During my childhood days, I used to chuckle at the way people bargained and bought these dolls from the vendors. The usual rhetorics were, ‘Oru Vivekanandar Kodu’ (Give me a Vivekananda) or ‘Andha Durgai evalavukku koduppai’ (For what price are you ready to sell the Durga idol). As a child, it sounded to me as if all these personalities were for sale!
Stepping up the Golu Padi or Golu stand
The dolls are to be conventionally displayed on golu padigal (steps to display the dolls) during Bommai Golu. These wooden steps are often dismantlable ones and are sold as a unit but in odd-numbers of 3,5,7,9 or 11 steps.
Nowadays, people have also started opting for steel or wrought-iron Golu stands. Do check out Kriti – a Salem based folkloric design studio who specialise in golu padi.
The entire living room of a home is often dedicated to Bommai Golu and I remember, as a child, enthusiastically packing away my school books into a trunk to make way for more space until the nine-day festival (holidays) came to an end, year after year!

What if one doesn’t have a Golu stand?
Fret not if you do not have the Golu stand. You can very well display them by setting some carton or the easy way out is to use the bookshelves or bookstands.
We did not have the luxury of space then, to accommodate a golu stand. So, the norm was to clear our bookshelves in the living room and display these dolls.
Ironically, we have ample space now, yet, unfortunately, we cannot indulge in all the preparation of keeping Golu as the tradition has been discontinued in my in-laws home many decades back.
Life can often be unfair and I terribly miss the celebrations around this beautiful homespun festival that has helped in forging relationships with the near and far, as well as with unknown people, many a time.
Arrangement and Navratri decoration during Bommai Golu
The figurines of gods and goddesses are mandatorily assigned the top tier while dolls of shopkeepers, Tanjore thalayaati Chettiar and Chettichi bommai, a bride and bride-groom set-up, vibrant and animated vegetable sellers or flower sellers et al occupied the lower rungs.
Another favourite doll set of mine was a scene of Adi Sankaracharya preaching his disciples under the shade of a tree.
After the Golu Padi and Golu Bommmai are arranged, it is time to give final touches to the whole set-up. Fairy lights and colourful rangoli (floral and motifs) dominate the decor of these living rooms and homes.

Rangoli Golu Designs and Patterns – Gallery
Here are some of the rangoli Golu designs I have done over the years since 1998. I do not have photographs of the same, prior to this year, though. It was a moment of pride as a child when friends and relatives used to tag along with their friends just to have a glimpse of the rangoli I did and the theme of Bommai Golu we displayed.
The rangoli and theme were always different every year. So, if you get to visit a house during these nine days, do appreciate the efforts of the womenfolk. A word of appreciation is sure to brighten up any face, isn’t it?



Rituals and Culturals around Bommai Golu
Once the Golu is arranged, womenfolk and girls(kanya) of the family start inviting neighbours and relatives to have a glimpse of Bommai Golu and seek the almighty’s blessings for the next nine days.
A visit to ancient local temples is another ritual, as temples too celebrate Bommai Golu by a display of dolls as well as by adorning and decorating the deity in the form of Shakti! This decoration of the deity is termed as alankaram.


Get to know the interesting concept of Golu hopping
Golu hopping is again an interesting aspect of Golu Pandigai. These visits to various households that hold the Bommai Golu are an opportunity to showcase the singing and creative talents of ladies and girls too.
As I could only compete in braying, I was often uncomfortable with this part of the festival during my childhood.
However, on one of the occasions, a very kind family friend suggested that I could recite chapters of the Bhagavad Gita if I wasn’t comfortable singing. This made me( the then 11-year-old me)giddy with excitement and I quickly rattled away three chapters from the sacred book of the Hindus to the applause of all the ladies present.
Since then for many years, as others sang to glory, I ended up reciting chapters and slokas from Hindu scriptures. We still have a hearty laugh when I think of those good old days!
Navrathri Golu Pandigai ā Only Ladies, Please!
Golu is more of a festival ‘for women by women’. Men usually end up performing the role of chauffers and helpers to bring home the required items for the festival, of course amidst gulping umpteen number of filter kaapi all along!!
Women are presented with a packet of prasadam, a hamper containing seasonal fruits, coconut, kumkum (vermillion) and manjal (turmeric) along with betel leaves and a string of flowers when they visit a home during Golu hopping. Nowadays, a return gift is added too.
It is interesting how a festival that started with a religious and spiritual concept transcends age and time, and has burgeoned into a social event where competitions are also being conducted to encourage and appreciate the efforts of the female folk.

Parting Words on Navarathri Golu Pandigai
Bommai Golu during Navaratri is an occasion for families and friends to get together and introduce Indian culture and ancient epics to younger generations. Also, to visit ancient temples like the Meenakshi Amman temple in Madurai, which has elaborate Navaratri Golu year after year.
However, the divinity associated with Golu pandigai is slowly ebbing away. It has come to just baking cakes, visiting restaurants for lunch, and greeting each other through WhatsApp messages, in many of the households, as some feel it is a tedious process.
I just hope these beautiful concepts of community interaction and living that so mindfully also provide a livelihood to the doll makers, potters and vendors get to stay on forever. After all, these are eco-friendly festivals and should not be swapped with other activities and events leading to a cultural appropriation that indirectly also encourage the use of plastics.
Let us be eco-sensitive as our ancestors were and appreciate our ancient traditions, customs, and rituals and take immense pride in them. There is nothing regressive about following old traditions that are built around sustainability, socialization, and eco-sensitivity!
I hope you liked reading this post as much as I enjoyed reminiscing the memories and putting it together. Season’s Greetings!

Pin this article for a later read!



One aspect of golu, which has not been highlighted is that every evening ladies in colourful kanjeevaram silk sarees wearing a lot of jewellery which is taken out on such special occasions would visit their friends. Girls used to wear Paavadai(skirts) and those in the teens MELAAKKU(half saree).Singing is part of the festival. The visitors would be given SUNDAL(a prasadam). Thus it is colours all around.(somewhat similar to HOLI when it comes to colours). Kids would enjoy SARASWATHI POOJA since the books will be kept for pooja and their mothers can’t ask them to study that full day( A day without books!!)
Thanks for the add-on :)) It’s all mentioned in the last few paras on the blog!
GOOD ARTICLE. HOWEVER PLEASE MAKE THIS CORRECTION. IT IS KOLU. NOT GOLU. FOR SOME REASON A LOT OF PEOPLE MAKE THIS MISTAKE BY USING G INSTEAD OF K. FOR EXAMPLE EVEN CLASSICAL KRITHIS HAVE THE WORD KOLU. SOMEHOW MANY SITES HAVE THOSE WRONG SPELLING.
OTHER LANGUAGES ARE VERY PARTICULAR ABOUT THE RIGHT PRONUNCIATION. YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THE SAME. š
In Tamil phonetics, K and Ga are used interchangeably. While appreciate your inputs, I prefer to use Golu.Much thanks for dropping by the blog.
I was looking for a convincing explanation for the non-indians about the significance and reason for celebrating navaratiri / golu and this blog just gave me that ! thanks a lot š
Glad you found a satisfactory explanation. Happy Navaratri and much thanks for dropping by.
I wish to clarify on my comment. One of my friends whom I invited refused to attend my invite because he said it was not a āDravidianā festival and only Aryans celebrated it.
But I understand it is not so. Though I am not aware, I understand there are references to this festival in Shilapaddikaram and also in Ponniyin Selvan.
Hence it is not a Brahmin exclusive function as it is usually understood.
Ram
Our family too lost this tradition but we revived the same in a big way three years ago, complete with neighbourhood communities visiting us and partaking of Pooja and Prasadam. As we live in a predominantly non Brahmin location, we find that there is a great interest among non Brahmins in our area who invite themselves often and many were inspired to take up the golu activities themselves.
We now have a full 7 step stand plus another four more. We plan to buy another 7 step stand. Next year we may keep a 14 stand one.Of course, our home is 2 BHK and so we face all constraints you mention.
We stick to traditional dolls of divinities only and usually build our golu around themes – Ramayana, Krishna Leela, Gajendra Moksha etc. So it is a joy for us to see visitors asking us what the story is about or themselves explaining to the audience the story behind the doll arrangement.
All in all, a very blissful experience.
Thanks for your article.
Best wishes, Ram
Nice to know about the celebrations at your household.Happy Navarathri and much thanks for dropping by.
Hi, Thanks a lot for such a beautiful narration. Relived my childhood again :’)
Much thanks for your kind words. I am so glad that you were able to relive your childhood as much as I did while penning this write-up :))
Thanks for sharing detailed information about how Navarathri is being celebrated in Tamil Nadu Especially. It is always about the celebrations in the North that the majority of the Tamizh folks ( other than those who keep Gollu) know about and follow. Appreciate your efforts very much. And the colourful pictures were such a treat to the eyes!
Thank you so much for taking out time to leave a comment. Much appreciated. I am so glad that you found the write-up useful :))
Loved your post on Golu and Dusshera. Relived my childhood days! Keep it up
Thank you so much. I am glad that it rekindled your childhood memories :)) Happy deepavali!
Very well captured. Thanks for posting .
It’s nostalgic reading this , clearing our book shelf for Golu.
Best wishes to you .
Superb, what an in-depth post, Meenu! It was nostalgia relived. Even we don’t keep golu but so.many memories associated with golu hopping, singing at homesand collecting prasadam.
And, you can recite the Gita..wow!
The cycle of life and death as you say reminds of the dialogue in Anand…hum sab rangmanch ke katputliyan hai, kab kaun kaise uthega koi nahin jaanta. We.must be one grand bommai golu for the Almighty, no?
Absolutely… we are all part of Golu, wonly. Also, don’t all of us Chinmaites recite the Gita š Thank you so much for dropping by, and, glad that you liked this detailed post.
Very insightful information about navarathri golu dolls. Got a lot of information.
Beautiful post, gives a lot of insight about navarathri and golu dolls. Thanks for this wonderful article
Oh my! I miss Golu… Currently in a different country and I really miss the joy of setting up the steps and unwrapping every doll and putting it all together. The best part is taking out those decades old bommais that belonged to my granny.
Yes…Golu is pure nostalgia for most of us Tamizhians š Thanks for dropping by!
Great post Meenakshi.being in Bangalore I have always heard about Golu festival but never had an opportunity to know it better. I can totally relate to the preparation phase as we felt the same excitment during Diwali time as kids like.
Being down south, I have experienced this every year. A very close friend does this every year and each year she has this one set up that is so new. And so creative too. This year, she did this entire food street like that of VV puram. Pity I could only see her pics as I was out of town. Your pics made me relive those happy times I spend visiting the Golus in the vicinity. Loved the way you have explained it all
I have few Tamilian friends and they invite us every year for golu. I never knew about this way of celebrating navratri until I came to Bangalore. Your post explained everything in detail and it’s really helpful for people like me.
This looks like such an interesting and very colourful festival. It’s so nice that they’re keeping the traditions you have alive by celebrating. The dolls are so intricate and quite an impressive display when all together too.
What an interesting festival and one less known about even when I was in India. The celebration Is a long nine-day dolls festival in line with dushera but needs to be made popular. Love the collection of different dolls and seems it is well prepared for and an integral part of the culture. Thanks for sharing.
Bommai Golu during Navaratri was a very unique experience for me when I was invited by a friend to her house for this celebration in Bengaluru. The cute display of the little dolls was so colorful and what was even more impressive was the effort in making the whole thing! I am truly delighted to read this post as not only is it sharing about something so unique on Indian culture, it is also in a way continuing the amazing heritage and tradition!
Wow! I loved the detailed account and the facts you shared. I first got to know about Golu in 2014 and I loved the concept. Many of my colleagues here in Bangalore keep the dolls and I love their pictures. I even wrote a post in 2014. Check on the blog if you get time š
How ignorant am I that I am Indian and I don’t know about Bommai Golu doll festival? I know about Navratri (I come from a Hindu family) but I guess culturally, North Indian’s traditions are quite different from the states down south so this isn’t something I know a lot about. Interesting to read nevertheless – we do something similar during Janmashtmi.
I was always curious to know about these dolls and today I know the exact reason. This is very interesting and must be really fun as well. I just loved the way you built up small schools, and gardens.
This is a very interesting tradition and one I was not aware of. I love the fact that the dolls are all handmade and passed down from generation to generation, such a nice tradition. Thanks for all your research.
Bommai Golu sounds like a wonderful festival celebrating women. I love how it brings back memories of preparation with your grandpa. And I didnāt know mustard seeds could be used to grow grass quickly on these displays. What a fun celebration of dolls and women in general.
This was so interesting to read!! Iāve always wondered about the meaning and history behind Navaratri but didnāt ever get to researching. My boyfriend is Malayali and if I ask him to explain me his response would be simply āa festivalā so itās really great to finally be able to read such a well detailed and thought out post and understand in full! Itās only right that Mahishaās Achilles heel be a woman š
I am fascinated by the tradition of this Navaratri festival. It is beautiful, that many of these dolls are given from one generation to another, this is a very nice tradition. I also really like the fact that this is all handmade and with so much love to the details. So many great things to look at. Such traditions are really important to be kept alive and given and taught from parents to children.
Such a well-articulated post. Loved all the details and the amazing pictures. I loved going to houses when invited to see the golu. š
Every body knows about the charm of Durgo Puja but not much about the rituals. Thank you so much for such a beautiful enlightening and fascinating post.
Wow, Meenu thank you for enlightening me with the significance of Golu. A friend of mine carries out the ritual and has been sending us pictures of the gods every year, but I was always intrigued by the story behind this ritual. Your post is such an eye-opener and also the same story holds true here as the Durga Puja we Bengali’s celebrate, which is essentially the slaying of Mahisasura.
Love the meticulous detailing of this narrative. Thank you so much for sharing these little snippets from your life too. Made for a fascinating read.
Very comprehensive and one of my favourite festivals. Thanks for sharing:)
What a beautiful post,Meenu. I have always been curious about the significance of Golu, and you’ve explained it so well. A post that would help people understand this tradition better.
Now I wish to see a Golu, as I never have.
Your rangolis are outstanding!
OH Meenu. this is so nostalgic. Infact I was just brroding hte last few days, about not teaching my kids about Golu, as I hardly set this up. Blame the transfers and the absence of the husband and any form of help. My childhood memories are flooded with Golu and the things that go with it. As you have mentioned, from the unpacking and the re packing in newspaper later, to deciding on a theme. IT used to be quite a lot of fun, coming up with a theme and then figuring out a way of displaying it perfectly.
We used to also make this thepakolum surrounded by the mustard seeds greenery. What fun it was! The only thing I hate was, being asked to sing when I was at someones home. Argh!!! Shy htat I was then, just would avoid going to peoples home and sing.
Its been years since I have been to an elaborate 9 step Golu display.
Excellent write up dear Meenakshi . J
I have read your full post and I want to say that this is a very nice post with beautiful images. Thanks for sharing an amazing post which is related to the Navaratri doll festival.