KOLU SEASON :Mountains move to living rooms

  It's that time of the year when women move mountains in their bid to  outdo their neighbours. Each Navarathri, imagina tions rut riot as people come up with new themes for their kolus or displays of dolls. From mountains and farms to cricket fields and race tracks, all sorts  of displays are laid out inside houses. Some follow tradition and pick  themes based on mythology but many choose current events as their muse. Vasanthy Ramesh, a resident of Adyar, has picked mountains as her  theme this year. The kolu features seven mountains, including Kailash,  Tirupati, Sanjeevani and Sabarimala.“We planned to have mountains  as the theme this year soon after Navarathri last year. We collected information on each hill from mythology as well included the present-day  experience of people who have visited these places,“ said Vasanthy , who returned from Nigeria a few years ago. The mountains are surrounded by thick vegetation formed by carefully tended mustard and fenugreek plants. Last year, Krishna Leela was her theme. At B Sivasankari's house in Kesavaperumalpuram, the theme is Chennai 375 to commemorate the city's 375th anniversary . “The kolu has past and present buildings, streets and temples.  With the help of pictures and caricatures, it explains the changing face of the city from British times till today,“ said Sivasankari. The Parthasarathy temple from past and present as well as skyscrapers of OMR find place in this kolu.  “We used colour pic tures to show how the temples look today while the yesteryear pictures were drawn by my husband,“ said Sivasankari. Anandhi Badrinath of Kotturpuram has highlighted ancient  utensils. “We have the regular steps of gods and goddesses.  On the floor is a village scene with a family cooking earth  en pots and stoves,“ said Badrinath. Temples have set up kolus on mythological themes. “ A mandapam in Kapaleeswarar temple has been decorated with Mt Kailash and saints devoted to Lord Shiva,“  said R Srikanth, one of the organisers. Oct 01 2014 : The Times of India (Chennai)