A colorful set of dolls depicting the story of Ramayana, a bright pair of pattada gombes and a mix of myriad miniature bombes that bring the house to life - Dasara is here and Bengalureans are celebrating the festival with gusto. Also known as gombe habba in Karnataka, Dasara is known for its beautiful display of a variety of gombes (dolls) which is a well-known traditional practice. While a large section of youngsters don’t know the relevance of these gombes, there are still those who are taking time out to ‘doll’ up their homes.
Twenty-four-year-old Varshini Vijay, Director of Prabath Auditoriums not only displays dolls at home, but also creates hand-made puppets especially for the habba. “Three years ago, I started making puppets — they’re Karnataka rod puppets. This time, I’ve made Sundarakanda puppets from Ramayana — characters like Hanumantha, Rama, Seetha, Lakshmana, Jambavantha, Ravana and Lankini.”
Thanks to being brought up by her grandparents, Varshini got a taste of traditional folklore that was narrated by them. “It's all about the tales that come along with these bombes. As a kid, I used to grow ragi in a crate and create a cricket stadium in between - from there, I've moved onto epics. I do storytelling and I wanted to add visuals to what I do, that's how I stumbled upon these puppets,” she says.
The dolls are usually displayed for ten days, till the final day of Dasara - Vijayadashami. It's the day when Goddess Chamun deshwari (Durga) defeated the demon Mahishasura. Legend has it that all the other Gods/ Goddesses gave their powers to Chamun deshwari to do so and became statues as they were devoid of their powers. Gombe habba is celebrated in their honour.
Ramya Rammohan, Founder, Zero Limits Montessori, decided to spread the joy of bombe habba to her school kids this year. “Our main aim was to expose the young ones to our culture. So, we took the kids, aged between 3.5 and 6 to my mother Thulsi's house. Every year, my mom creates different themes and this time, we've displayed the life of Lord Rama. There's also an arrangement of Krishna Leela, a temple in Tamil Nadu and a village and marriage theme. We also had a Tirupati theme and as soon the kids identified the God, they said 'Venkataramana!' They were so thrilled that some of them went back home, took out their own dolls and arranged them!” smiles Ramya.
Yoga instructor Suchitra Patel usually displays dolls that she has a personal connect with. From toys that her grandparents would use to those that would reflect her life, she has collected a plethora of gombes over the years. “I also have some travel souvenirs and gifts that people have given me. This year, I've got stuff from my Aunt, who used to make dolls. My entire family gets involved in the ritual and I narrate the story behind the habba to my kids,” she says.
Go ahead and get a taste of bombaat bombes this season!
