" My grandfather Rajaram's ( 1909 - 1985 ) great grand father was Gajanchi Kuppuramiah ( 1811 - 1901 ). He was the Treasurer of Coimbatore town those days. Crafts persons came from Thanjavur and made our Navarathri dolls at our ancestral home in Karuppa Gounder Street. These dolls were three dimensional expressions of Thanjavur paintings. The skeleton was made of Kalyana Murungai and wood pulp is applied along with tamarind paste on it in order to get the shape. Later fine muslin cloth dipped in vajram ( paste ) is used for sticking it up. Thereafter fine powder ( after vastrakayam ) is applied after mixing it with home made glue ( basically neem and other things ). It becomes smooth and mirrors, precious stones , gold leaf etc., as in Thanjavur paintings are used to complete the doll. Jewellery, clothes and other aspects like the background are separate. The dolls were finished with water based colours. This craft has but disappeared these days, " stated Gurumurthy while showing the old Dambidi Kasumalai adorning one of the kolu dolls ( it was dated 1901 and belonged the reign of Queen Victoria ). He shared old pictures of such dolls placed at the Ariyalur Kariaperumal Temple. The temple had been maintained by the Zamindars of Udayarpalayam.
" My grandfather Rajaram's ( 1909 - 1985 ) great grand father was Gajanchi Kuppuramiah ( 1811 - 1901 ). He was the Treasurer of Coimbatore town those days. Crafts persons came from Thanjavur and made our Navarathri dolls at our ancestral home in Karuppa Gounder Street. These dolls were three dimensional expressions of Thanjavur paintings. The skeleton was made of Kalyana Murungai and wood pulp is applied along with tamarind paste on it in order to get the shape. Later fine muslin cloth dipped in vajram ( paste ) is used for sticking it up.
Thereafter fine powder ( after vastrakayam ) is applied after mixing it with home made glue ( basically neem and other things ). It becomes smooth and mirrors, precious stones , gold leaf etc., as in Thanjavur paintings are used to complete the doll. Jewellery, clothes and other aspects like the background are separate. The dolls were finished with water based colours. This craft has but disappeared these days, " stated Gurumurthy while showing the old Dambidi Kasumalai adorning one of the kolu dolls ( it was dated 1901 and belonged the reign of Queen Victoria ). He shared old pictures of such dolls placed at the Ariyalur Kariaperumal Temple. The temple had been maintained by the Zamindars of Udayarpalayam.
Gurumurthy takes about a week to prepare the kolu. Clothes, jewellery , cleaning, assembling the parts .Working on the concept is a laborious process. ' Krishna ' is the concept for this year. The deity is found as Ranganatha, Dwarakadish, Udupi Krishna, Panduranga and Govardhanagiridhari. The dolls look lovely and captivating. Rama Pattabishekham can be seen in the first room. One can see Hanuman, Sugreeva, Vibheeshana , Trijada, Vasishta along with Rama and his family.
The three Devis of Navarathri - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathi are placed in one console. Gurumurthy has painstakingly carved a few dolls all by himself. He is the energy behind the annual ' Natyanjali ' at Perur. This businessman cum heritage enthusiast is an ambassador of Indian heritage in this part of the country. He has a huge collection of photos and slides connected with Indian temples. Gurumurthy is popular for his slide shows and heritage tours with his friends from the Rotary Club of Coimbatore Metropolis.
" We used to have a lot more dolls. They had all been kept in boxes which were made specifically for this purpose. Fabric was used to drape the dolls. These boxes were placed on a platform. The wooden boxes were left undisturbed for the full year. However when we did not celebrate Navathri for the year or sometimes two years, the boxes were never opened. Some of these wooden dolls got damaged and are lost for ever. The Mantapa Krishnadu was very grand in the display.
So were the Gandharvas who would be suspended. The house was a tiled roof house and preservation was very difficult. I have been involving myself with the kolu from the age of 7. My grandmother Anandamma ( 1911 - 2002 ) was the one to organize the kolu and I began to do it myself from my school finals. Now I have been at it for about 45 years. I look forward to organize it every year.
My wife Prasanna helps me with the arrangements, " added Gurumurthy while showing an old palm leaf manuscript of Ramayana in Telugu. His ancestors were known to read the palm leaf manuscript everyday for centuries. Gurumurthy has done well by preserving it well.
The ancestors of Gajanchi Kuppuramiah had hailed from the Telugu speaking parts of our country. They had over 4000 acres of wet lands in the Bhavani and Kumarapalayam region. The family had settled down in this part of the country centuries ago and they were later granted lands by the Wodeyars of Mysore.
Part of the lands were by virtue of them being Inamdars and part of the lands had been purchased by them. Gurumurthy lives with his family in Coimbatore. His son Anirudh is married to Anjana and the second son Arjun stays along with his parents.
The kolu is organized year on year and Gurumurthy has a stream of visitors everyday for the entire 10 days. Its amazing to see his vigour while he goes through the whole process. The concept Krishna is quite interesting. All the dancer dolls have become shepherds and maidens under the Govardhana hill. The Krishnas look very nice. Radha and Krishna are found with the Gopis. The room with the Rama Pattabishekham has a box of gifts which are kept open by Sugreeva, the King of the Vanaras. Gurumurthy was eager to show the parts of the crown, parts of the dolls and instruments like the veena which are part of the kolu this year. Gurumurthy works tirelessly for each kolu. He is also a fantastic artist and one can get to see a few of his pieces at his residence. His Gajasamharamurthy is outstanding.
Gajanchi Kuppuramiah was married to Tripursundari Amma and his daughter Guruvamma lived with her husband Venkatakrishna. Their daughter Subbhulakshmi was married to Gandhian freedom fighter Subburayulu and their son Rajaram had been brought by his grandmother Guruvamma.
Their daughter Parvathavardhani ( 1938 - 2015 ) lived with her husband Dr.Sundararaman ( 1928 - 1983 ). The family has a Coimbatore legacy of over 200 years.
Gurumurthy's grandfather Rajaram ( 1909 - 1985 ) had managed the family lands. " The Sankaracharyas of Sringeri had visited our residences. His Holiness Sachithanandha Sivabhhinava Nrisimha Bharathi had stayed in our Bhavani residence.
His Holiness Chandrashekara Bharathi and his successor His Holiness Abhinava Vidya Theertha have visited us. I am happy to tell you about that several ancient relics connected with the Hindu religion are preserved by our family. We consider it to be our good fortune to take our culture and religion forward, " smiled Gurumurthy while showing the old photographs connected with his family. Its amazing to see a photo of Gajanchi Kuppuramiah ( 1811 - 1901 ) and other family elders in the residence of Gurumurthy.
He has taken efforts to preserve old icons, paintings, pictures , marapachi dolls and weapons which belong to the yonder days. They are kept in good condition. It is part of our living heritage and the Gurumurthys are among the handful who have done it with their heart and soul.