Come ‘Navarathiri’ and it is time for artisans to work overtime to make ‘kolu’ dolls to cater to the increase in demand.
“We have thousands of idols of Ganapathy, Saraswathi, Durga and Lakshmi. ‘Kolu’ doll sets are also in demand,” said G. Jaisankar, one of the artisans of Tiruvanaikovil.
He said there has been a growing demand for doll sets. “Each set has six to 15 idols,” he said.
There are ‘marriage set,’ ‘Sri Gopika set,’ ‘Dasavathara set,’ ‘Sri Meenakshi celestial marriage set,’ ‘Sri Radha alankaram’ set and others. The prices of doll sets range between Rs. 800 and Rs. 2,000 depending on the number and size of idols.
Another artisan, Pitchammal, said she had to invest at least Rs. 2 lakh every year prior to Navarathiri festival. Although they make different types of dolls and idols, it was the idol of Lord Ganapathy which is always in demand from wholesale dealers. “Each dealer purchases at least 500 idols of Lord Ganapathy and hence we stock a large stock of this idol. We also make different forms of Lord Ganapathy to attract customers,” she added.
