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Blogs That I Follow.

  • http://navallanga.blogspot.com
  • News Item That touched Me ....There was one article in this month's Reader's Digest about Kamalbhai Parmar who is running a fabricating unit and who runsa school,rather a tution school for the poor students in Ahmedabad.It takes a large heart to start something like this.I do wish I can do something like that too.Atleast be able to teach in such effort .
  • Books That I am reading now.....I am reading "Under Orders" by Dick Francis.Just started.Seems to be about issues in racing sport.
  • News Items That Touched Me Today----The bicyc;e scores over train and car in a survey conducted for two wheeler travel ina congested metro like New York as the fastest transport..
  • Movies That I Liked.....I watched a Malayalam Movie called'Vastu Hara' in Kairali T.V.yesterday.The story touches about losers who migrate abandoning their personal properties during divison of countries and realtes to the creation of East Pakistan called East Bengal dividing Bengalis .Also running underneath the main issue is the personal loss of property which gets rejected by the Mother in the story who is offered the same back by her Husband's relatives.
  • Books That Are My Favorites----Somerset Maughm's short stories,Arthur Conan Doyle's 'sherlock Holm mysteries',All of Shakespearian dramas,The Bronte sister's writings,Poems by Mathew Arnold and Tagore's 'gitanjali'.This list is not exahaustive.

Monday, September 14, 2009

A Search For Navrathri Dolls.



I write this to correct the information found in websites regarding Navrathri dolls available in Panruti a village near Vilupuram in Tamil Nadu.After seeing information regarding the dolls ( we in our younger days knew about the Panruti dolls which are dolls out of clay and painted ), went to this village.Since no train reservations were available we went from Mysore to Erode and then stayed for the night at Tiruchirappaly reaching there for the night by catching another bus.From Tiruchirappaly there is a train to Viluppuram at 6.30 A.M. and after landing there went straight to this village Panruti.Of course we were puzzled on the way by not seeing any shop selling these dolls.Anyway the auto rickshaw man when enquired did take us to the single artisan living there.This artisan informed us that the artists making such dolls are all gone away from the village and he makes the dolls on receipt of orders.He said that manpower is unavailable for such work now and informed us that we have to go to Kanchipuram or Pondichery to get dolls.In Pondichery there was an exhibition going on since September 2ND and we will get those dolls though the quality will not be like his.He was indeed proud of his work though no pieces were there available to see.He with one labourer was making some dolls which were wet and uncoloured.

Anyway his guidance was helpful as Pondichery being only 33 K.M. away from Panruti we went by bus and as he said saw the exhibition which was well organized and purchased the dolls.So folks Panruti is out of the dolls map.Thank God we did not go to Vandipalayam another village mentioned in the net.Net folks correct yourselves.

Jayamala.
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1 comment:

Unknown said...

You are right. I grew up in Panruti and have seen the present artisan's father making dolls with clay and papier mache. The quality used to be excellent with lifelike depiction. The artisan's brother, who was my classmate in school died after an electric shock and the family had very few people to carry on the tradition. about two years back I wrote to Dr.Irai Anbu, Secretary to Government in charge of arts and crafts that such a wonderful art was dying due to lack of perople to carry on the business. I got a reply that he will take action on this. I have not heard anything further
Kanakasabapathi

3:46 AM

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