Here is a photo of a traditional kolu kept in south Indian homes.


When I was in mumbai, we used to keep kolu at home for ten days. My mom used to remove the dolls from the attic, and we used to oil them well. Then at the start of NavarAthri, we placed the dolls on the steps. The steps are made by placing the dining table, and some cardboard boxes. My dad used to make that arrangement. For children, he used to make some garden or a hill of sand near the kolu. We used to look forward to Navrathri !

My mom usually arranges three steps. We used to buy new dolls every year to be displayed. We have the dasavatara set, krishna leela set, and many differnt gods. And for fun we can also keep some dolls like wedding band set, animal, fruit sets and so on. Then we used to call the neighbouring ladies, most of them North Indians, who were our friends to come and see the dolls. My mom used to make the sundal(a preparation made of lentils) and we used to gift some lovely items to the ladies.

For children it is surely a fun thing. This tradition of keeping kolu has to be followed every year. Happy to see many people still following the tradition of keeping kolu in their homes. Saraswati pooja is performed where all the books, pens are kept in front of saraswati devi. On the Vijayadasami day, we worship all the items in our house and place a sandal and kumkum paste on them,as a sign of sacredness.

Since we were in Mumbai, We participated in NavrAthri celebrations of many other states too. Durga pooja is also looked forward to. I just cant forget the huge beautiful images of Durga which are placed in Pandals by the Bengali Associations. We used to visit the Pandals, and just loved the decorations there. Cultural programmes too used to be held on the side. We used to mingle with Bengalis and enjoy the festival.

And finally comes from Gujarat, the DAndiya Raas. We used to look forward to them too. We used to attend the Pandals where children and aduls alike participate in the the DAndiya Raas. It is a treat to see all of them dressed in traditional Gujarati finery dancing to the tunes of popular songs. Most of the songs are traditional Gujarati songs.

Thus, being brought up in mumbai, I have participated in the NavrAthri celebrations of many different states of India !

India is truly great to have so many festivals which bring people together and increase the feeling of brotherhood among us.

Industries are the back bone of a nation’s economy. There are mainly three types of industries-large scale, small scale and cottage industries. Of these cottage industries have a prominent place in a country like India.

In cottage industries goods and articles are produced with a small investment. The workers are mainly of a single family. Some of these industries are run on the principle of co-operation. In our country cottage industries have been providing livelihood to thousands of families in the rural areas. Mahatma Gandhi realized the importance of cottage industries and encouraged them.

Ours is a developing country with a large population. Much of india’s population lives in villages. Here opportunities of employment are scarce. All the people in a village cannot depend on agriculture. Some of them have to get their livelihood from some other sources. Cottage industries come into picture in this regard. They can be started with a little capital and few workers. Government agencies also help people in running the cottage industries.

In the olden days every village had a number of these industries. Villagers pursued their hereditary vacations. Weaving, pottery, carpentry and tailoring were some of the industries in rural areas. These industries could be run by those involved in agriculture in their leisure. The villagers found market for their products in the village itself. There were many talented worksmen in these industries. Some weavers wove sarees that could be placed in a match box. Such was their talent.

Cottage industries provide opportunity for the development of handicrafts. In places like KONDAPALLI and NIRMAL toys are made. The LEPAKSHI sarees are famous. Dyeing is a prominent industry. In many villages match boxes are made. Carpets are also made in cottage industries. There are several other products coming out of these industries.

With the advent of the british cottage industries in our country suffered a setback. Industrial revolution brought about a craze for goods made on machines. People depending on cottage industries lost their livelihood. After independence cottage industries are again encouraged. Government now provides the needed financial assistance to these. Product of cottages industries are sold through special counters like the LEPAKSHI stalls.

These industries provide employment to a large number of people. They have to be encouraged on a large scale. They are being given an important place in the rural development schemes.

Toys in the olden days

What does a toy mean to you? Is it anything you play with: for example, two pieces of wood, a rock or a piece of cloth? While these may be used as toys sometimes, we really mean something more than that by the word toy.

A toy is usually something to amuse children that in some way mimics what grown-ups do. A gun, a car or a wagon, a doll, or a little house is such toys. Balls and tops are also toys.

However, since children, from the beginning of time, like to mimic grown –ups, we can say that toys have been around for long time.

Archeologists have found toys such as clappers, rattles, tiny pots, and miniature animals of clay, bronze, and lead in the ruins of ancient cities!

They found a toy lion which stands on wheels in the ruins of ancient Persian city. In the stand is a hole for a string with which to pull it, just as such a toy might be made today. And this toy is about 3,000 year’s old1

The Harappans made toys of terracotta for their children. Animals with movable heads, monkeys that did down a string, little toy ants, and whirlers (toys that can swing round) in the shape of birds have been found in the Harappa ruins.

Doll’s museum

There are photographs are of some dolls on display in the international dolls’ museum in Delhi. This museum has a collection of more than six thousand dolls from more than eighty countries. Many of the dolls are dressed in their national costumes. There is even a 250 years –old doll from Switzerland. There are many dolls from India. They show the different kinds of dresses and jewels that people from the different regions of India wear.

There are photographs of three dolls from different parts of India. Can you guess where they could be from? Talk about it in the museum direct with dolls.

Make things with your own hands

Some of us are ``good with our hands’. That means we can draw or make things well try making small models or big things, like this!

In some countries like Holland, big windmills are used to grind grain into flour, pump water and even to produce electricity. Try making a colorful paper windmill for fun.

These are the things will need-Ruler; scissors, Pencil, pins with large heads; small beads; pencils with erasers on the ends; sheets of colored paper.

If you ever visit Chandigrah, make it a point to go to Nek Chand’s roc garden. It is full of marvelous works of art and sculpture, which have been made by Nek Chand, a resident of this very well- planed city. He has used scrap items to create art and beauty.

You, too, can make interesting things using scrap such as biscuit wrappers, powder containers, tins, perfume bottles and matchboxes.

Hi friends, in this article I would to share about DOWRY MENACE with you all.

In most of the houses, the pain we inflict upon our family members and the sins, we are getting out of that is much.  Sons, daughters, daughters in law etc who neglect and humiliate their elderly parents; parents who indulge in their own pleasures and pastimes neglecting their duty of looking after their children; drunken husbands who torture their wives daily; brothers and sisters who do inflict pain on each other. Above all there are the husbands and their parents who torture young wives demanding unreasonable dowry. Let us at least reduce these sins if at all not possible to completely stop it.  Not only to human beings, even if you cause pain to animals that is also a sin.  Non- vegetarians-please think it over.

Among the selfless people, there are some who torture their wives and force them to get more gold and cash from their parents.  How highly sinful they would become through such mean acts like these? If the parents are rich and give voluntarily to their daughters there is no harm in receiving them.  But to pressurizing the poor parents and inflicting pain on them, who had with great difficulty and with much borrowed money performed their daughters’ marriage is really a big sin. In the marriage function, you pledge in the name of God that you would protect your wife from all mishaps difficulties and misfortunes, that you would share the joys and sorrows of the woman you marry  (This is the meaning of the mantras  chanted by the priest who  performs the marriage)  You make this promise in front of God Agni, in the presence of hundreds of your friends and relatives, and with Arundhathi and other holy planets blessing your union, you make her a part of yourself and of your life. But what happens within a short time?

You forget your promises; you forget that she is part and parcel of your life.  Your greed and insatiable desire come to the surface.  You demand your wife to get you money and materials; or your parents and sisters do it.  You sometimes join  them, and sometimes just let them tease her and pretend not to be aware of these things.  What happened to your promise made at the time of the marriage in front of Lord Agni?  But now you have forgotten it.  You cheat God by breaching your promise you torture your wife and her parents.  Are you not treacherous? Do you think, from the accumulation of these sins, you can escape God’s punishment? Never. Never.

In the society, some sections of people are weak and they are to be protected.  They are women, children and elders. It is our duty to protect them.  Even during war time, in the olden days, these sections of people were spared.  If anybody harmed these three categories, they will accumulate more sin.  In the same way, if anybody does well to them, they will accumulate more virtues. There is a saying “Even the ghost will show mercy to women”.  Will you not accumulate more sin by causing pain to this category? Please think.

The story of Emperor Sibi is familiar to all of us.  A hunter was in pursuit of a dove, wounded by him; the dove sought refuge with the Emperor.  Taking pity on the dove’s plight, the emperor promised to help it.  Later when the hunter found the dove in the hands of the Emperor, he demanded his bird back or an equal amount of flesh from the Emperor’s body.

The Emperor offered to give his flesh, rather than the bird back to the hunter.  Such an act of the Emperor Sibi is most laudable and unparalleled in history, considering the facts that the refuge is sought only by a bird (Not even a human being) and it was chased after only by a hunter who is no match to the status of an Emperor; one wonders whether the above incident is real or fictitious.

But you are cutting slowly the flesh of your wife who has taken refuge with you, leaving behind her brother’s sisters and also her parents whom she treats as equal to God.  Where do you stand? Cutting your wifes flesh – in contrast to the Emperor Sibi who sacrificed his own flesh for the sake of a simple bird! Can you escape the punishment from God for your treacherous act?

In Ramayana, in the final battle with Ravana  Rama was noble and magnanimous.  At the end of a day’s battle, Rama found Ravana without arms, with nothing to defend himself, with having lost all his weapons. Rama was not willing to kill his enemy who was unarmed.  Even though killing the enemy in the battle field is not a sin, and inspite of the fact that in the morning when the battle started Ravana was in possession of all the weapons Rama told Ravana to go and come back the next day to resume the war.  But the young brides who have come to live in a strange house  with strange in laws without having any protection and not even some consoling words, from anybody in the house are tortured by you and your parents.  How cruel?

That too what kind of wife? The wife who treats you like a God the wife  who feels  very much hurt and sheds more tears than your own parents  when you are in an hospital for treatment for an accident.  The wife, who will not hesitate even a second to give her life, to protect your life from death, if such the situation so warrants.  You are torturing such a good wife!

The best relationship in this world is the relationship between the mother and the child.  Even this relationship is sometimes secondary to the relationship between husband and wife. Your wife is the first person in this world to get affected very much with the news of a debacle to you.  Then only your mother comes.  When you are torturing such a good wife could there be a more treacherous act in this world than this?  You are doing this after all, for the sake of money.  Even a prostitute earns a few thousands in a night.  For that money you are torturing your wife, the wife whom you have married in front of Lord Agni, the wife to whom you have promised at the time of marriage in front of God, to protect her until your death, the wife  whom even the ghosts will forgive, the wife who has taken refuge with you treating you as God, the wife who stands before you without any sort of protection, the wife who is prepared to sacrifice her life for the sake of your’s .
Don’t you realise your treachery?
Don’t you realise your atrocity?
Don’t you realise how much sin you are committing?

After doing all this, can you imagine you can escape the punishments from God for these acts? You can’t escape where ever and to whichever corner of the world you go.
In the Western countries, there is absolutely no dowry menace.  Hence there is no sin committed in this manner.  But only in the third world countries like India, the people commit sin through dowry menace. Is it any wonder that India starves and stagnates? You cannot escape the punishments for the sins committed against young brides.
Those who indulge in dowry menace should realise that they are committing great sins. Why are you accumulating bags and bags of sins?  Is there any fool like you?

So lets decide or take a pledge that we will not encourage the dowry culture.