INTRO

I have arranged Golu in three parts. First part is a traditional Golu arranged in seven steps. Main attraction is the Marappachis (wooden dolls) of Lord Balaji and Mother Padmavathy in the middle of 3rd row from top. These wooden dolls are more than 100 yrs old. Other notable items are the Alli Arjuna set(Arjuna disguised as Brihannala in Virada Desa), Thiruvilayadal set( Lord Siva Parvathy, Ganesa holding mangoe fruit, Muruga and Rishi Narada),set of Rasakreeda, Brindavan set(Krishna, Gopikas and cows), Boat of Guha carrying Rama, Sitha and Lakshmana, crossing Sarayu river, Gaja Lakshmi,.Ananthasayanam. There is a rare set of small dolls of Rama, Sitha,Lakshmana and Hanuman (Kondappully dolls). You can see a shop of Chettiar family selling vegetables, provisions, brass vessels and Makkalku utensils. Shop is protected by a Policeman and a dog.
On the 6th step from top are a Kamadhenu, different forms of Vinayaka, Dhruva, Vivekananda Raghavendra and Shirdi Saibaba. Traditional Golu consists of mainly mud dolls. Juggling balls of brass(Kazhakkodi) is also exhibited near Chettiar's Shop.
Second part is a 5 step Golu of metallic vessels, lamps and idols of Vaishnavidevi and Seethaladevi.I have made decorated an idol of Balambika Devi using a Kuthuvilakku. Two special items are a brass Nalangu thengai and brass Kuruvatti filled with turmeric.
Third part of Golu is a children's park with a building set. Building set is more than 90 years old. Other notable exhibits are a Pallankuzhi, Elephant lamp. Bead works of Lord Ganesa and Lord Balaji, made by me, are also exhibited. I have also drawn Lord Ganesa in Mutharathi art form prevalent in Karamana village, Thiruvananthapuram. I have aslo drawn Kolams on an Adapalakai with stone decorations and Rangoli kolams on plates.
In this year Golu has a pandal decorated with flowers. In the background is a Elephant's Nettippattam made by me.
I am arranging Golu for the last 50 years from my childhood.

I’ve been keep golu for last 11yrs. This year the idea a temple with golu. One side of the main golu is Krishna’s life and the other side is ambal themed.

1. Regular Golu with 9 Steps
2. Our theme is Nava.
3. Navadurga, Navanarasimha, Nava Avatharam of Ganesha, Nava Shiva Swaroopam, Nava Lakshmi.
4. Shiva Swaroopam is all handmade dolls by us.

The theme of your Golu this year is centered around the joyous celebration of Ram lalla's return to Ayodhya.we have displayed the whole Ramayana with our hand crafted dolls made with old repurposed Barbie dolls. Whole background is made with old newspaper.we also have traditional golu with dolls more than 100 years old.
We also have a custome made Ramayana board to gift the children visiting our Golu.

Miniature golu for modern times:

Our family has been keeping golu for more than 30 years and recently we shifted to Mumbai, where space and storage is a huge constraint. So we couldn't bring our traditional golu dolls and stand from our native.

We felt incomplete to celebrate Navaratri without golu.

Then we came up with an idea of miniature golu !!!

We started procuring idols one by one from different sources. We put lot of efforts to get variety of beautiful idols that too in the size range of 3-4 inches. Also we searched for mini marapachi dolls as well, and finally found one of 3 inches.

We converted expandable cabinet kitchen rack as golu steps, baby toys as farm, aquarium lamp as focus light and thus created the miniature golu.

It's the perfect solution for modern times for following our culture and tradition in limited space.

My theme for this year is "Celebration".
Towards the right side, I have curated a set depicting "Vaaranam Aayiram", a mystic dream wedding of goddess Andal. The set up begins with her telling her sakhi's (Friends) about her dream of getting married to Sri Krishna and she explains the whole process. Towards the left, I have curated important milestone celebration of human beings from Marriage to Shashtipoorthi. On top of the padi, we have Nava narasimhar, Dashavataram, Ashtalakshmi, Musical Ganesha and Krishna Rasa Leele. We have the pattada bombe in the center. At the bottom, we have the Mysuru Dasara Utsava. While the guests enter, they see the importance of farmers in the village and a quick insight of why they should not waste food. Followed by street vendor stalls to help support small vendors. Next up, is my miniature corner where I have kept a few things close to my heart - I love cotton candy since I was a kid, A thought to re-start my mother's catering services and a wish for my mother in law to complete her Mysore KSIC saree collection to reach a 100.

We have been arranging golu since 6 years. Our golu is a five stepped arrangement of different gods/godesses including dasavatharam, ashtalakshmi, Navagrahas, Andal, Guruvayoorappan, Chakrathalwar etc.
This years special was the ARUPADAI VEEDU creation alongside the golu steps. All prototypes was displayed including Tiruparakundram, Tiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Tiruttani and Palamudhircholai.

This is your 18th annual golu. This year's theme is "Devi: Naari Shakti" where we have depicted the various stories and glories of our hindu mythological goddesses and their avatars. Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati are the centerpieces, both Lakshmi and Durga are handmade. The different avatars of Durga, Lakshmi Saraswati are on one side of the golu. The "Saptamatrika" which means 7 avataars of Goddess Durga are all handmade. On the other side of the golu, we have depicted the ever giving goddess Kamadhenu in rangoli. We have depicted stories of devis like Sita, Radha, Tulsi, Draupadi, Gayathri and Svaha.

The festive season of Navaratri brings a special energy every year, and this year marks my 6th consecutive GOLU setup. Having recently moved to Edmonton, Canada, this is my third year celebrating GOLU here. What makes this year’s GOLU particularly special is the creative effort from three generations of women in my family—my mom, my daughter, and me. Together, we handcrafted figurines to display, with my mom creating the stunning centerpiece. She used air-dry clay to portray the "Bathukamma festival," a celebration of flowers and the spirit of women, which is deeply rooted in the culture of Telangana.
Our theme this year is "Explore the divinity in you."
We follow the traditional 5-step arrangement for the GOLU, each step carrying a unique message:
• Step 1 begins with the blessings of Lord Saraswati, Lord Ganesh, and Lakshmi Mata. It narrates different chapters from the life of Lord Rama—his time in Ayodhya, Sita Kalyanam, and his exile (including the boat ride with Guhudu). This step teaches us to "master our emotions."
• Step 2 walks us through the lives of Lord Krishna, Narasimha Swamy, and Lord Balaji, reminding us to always "keep Dharma in mind."
• Step 3 showcases the Dasavatara, reinforcing the value of "doing the right thing, always."
• Step 4 is dedicated to the theme of marriage, highlighting the truth that "change is the law of the universe," and embracing that change is essential.
• Step 5 features our Bathukamma display, celebrating the essence of "living in every moment."
We invited family and friends to celebrate Haldi Kumkum over three days, with dinner, games, and dandiya adding to the joy of the occasion. We also organized a quiz and fun activities for the kids. The celebrations ended with the recitation of the Lalitha Sahasranamam, bringing the festival to a beautiful close.

Dear Organiser,
I am SWARNA SHASTRI aged 63 years. I wish to participate in the Golu competition 2024 organised by you. Please consider my nomination and oblige. The theme of my Golu this year is Five Divisions of Landscape as per Sangam Period. Kurinji, Mullai, Marudham, Neithal, Paalai.
Even the Doll arrangements depict Shaivam, Vainavam and Saaktham ie Shakthi. My contact number is 9382399884 and my residential address is Mrs.Swarna Shastri, B 42, 12th Floor, Alaka Palazzo, Kumananchavadi, Kaattupakkam, Chennai-600056.
I am attaching the golu photos and video google drive link for your kind perusal.

Best Regards,
Swarna Shastri