Golu: The South Indian Way of Celebrating Navrathri

It’s Navrathri time in India and Golu time in South India. The Indian festival of Navrathri  is celebrated in the form of Golu in South India. The auspicious festival of Navrathri meaning Nine nights is celebrated to worship the three main Goddesses of Hinduism, Durga, the Goddess of power, Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and Saraswathi, the Goddess of Knowledge. The first three days are devoted to Goddess Durga, the next three days to Goddess Lakshmi and the last three days to Goddess Saraswathi. 

The 3 Devis – Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi

‘Golu’ basically means presence.  The festival, as such, is an arrangement of vibrant, beautiful dolls in steps. The top steps are dedicated to Gods and Goddesses, followed by the spiritual gurus, sadhus and saints like Saibaba, Sri Raghavendra, Sri Gurunanak. Animals, birds, miniature utensils, shells and other dolls occupy the lower steps. It is believed that the deities reside in the Golu for the whole ten days and bless us.

The Golu

Every year, in the month of September or October, on a new moon day, the dolls are taken out from the store places, cleaned and repainted if needed. The steps are arranged using cartons, wooden shelves and other materials. They are odd numbered, usually starting from 5 upto 11. Once the steps are ready, they are covered with white dotis and the dolls are arranged. The walls, floors and the surroundings are well decorated with lamps, garlands, flowers and Rangoli patterns. In some houses, the main golu is adorned by artificially created settings such as zoo, village, hill, pond, park, temples etc.,. 

Fixtures in Golu

Dolls are hereditarily passed on to the subsequent generations. Worn out dolls are replaced and it is customary to include some new dolls in the golu every year. 

The festival could be called as the ‘Festival of Women’. Women do pooja for the golu in the morning. In the evening, they dress themselves beautifully, visit kith and kin, neighborhood and friends and invite them to their golu.  Carnatic and devotional songs are sung in praise of God. Each day, some dal, say Channa dal or moong dal or groundnut, is prepared in the form of ‘Sundal’ and is offered as prasadam. Visitors are given ‘Vethalai paaku’ (betel leaf with betel nuts) along with turmeric, sindoor, flowers and the ‘sundal’ of the day. At night, ‘Mangala Harathi’ is taken for the golu to mark the end of the day.