Settled in far flung corners of the world, we Indians are bound together by a common heritage..a shared joy that abounds in nostalgia of festivals we celebrated while growing up! What joy it is to see our virtual family and friends in the blogosphere, and social media revel in the same delight that we once did as kids!
Aalayam brings to you a picture post filled with snapshots of your, my and our festive childhood... of Dasara Bombe Habba (click here to know more about this traditional Indian Festival) from different corners of the world!
Have fun and become a kid once more in the various interpretations of Dasara Bombe Habba. I sure did with my kids!!
Aalayam - Come, Stay...GET INSPIRED!
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| Mysore Dasara Elephant Procession or "Aane Ambari". Image from Supriya's home. |
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| The traditional bride and groom dolls or "Pattada Bombe". Image from Supriya's home. |
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| Mysore Dasara procession from "Bombe Mane" the expo that displays a wide variety of dolls, occurs in Mysore showcasing over 5,000 vibrant and unique dolls. Organized by Ramsons Kala Pratisthana. Picture courtesy - Anupama Iyengar, Mysore resident and Deepa's dear friend. |
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| A band of musicians. Image from "Bombe Mane". Picture courtesy - Anupama Iyengar. |
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| The local village setting. Image from "Bombe Mane". Picture courtesy - Anupama Iyengar. |
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| The Villagers in commute. Image from "Bombe Mane". Picture courtesy - Anupama Iyengar. I remember my grandmother had all these little stick figurines which I would put around a home grown park of mustard seedlings! I should remember to bring them over here to the USA, during my next trip to India! |
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| The traditional South Indian Wedding scene. Image from "Bombe Mane". Picture courtesy - Anupama Iyengar. |
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| Love the intricacy of the village and community scenes! And the attention to detail given to these pieces of art. Image from "Bombe Mane". Picture courtesy - Anupama Iyengar. |
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| Spice Rack remedies anyone? These ladies from Channapatna pound custom spice mixes for you! Image from Supriya's home. |
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| The quintessential grain merchant! Now, is forced to diversify his business by selling milk and vegetables too. The "Shetty Angadi". Image from Supriya's home. |
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| Navarathri Golu or Dasara Bombe Habba arrangement. Image from Supriya's home. |
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| What do you do with a Circus arrangement that you bought for your kids from IKEA? You incorporate it for your Dasara Bombe Habba of course! Image from Supriya's home. |
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| My husband and I had a very enjoyable time building these custom shelves with spray paint, lace, bedazzles and of course gauzy fabric! (ask me how!) to arrange the Dasara Bombe! We love the result! Do you? Image from Supriya's home. |
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| I sneaked my kids' miniature toys to create our own wildlife sanctuary!! See, I told you we had fun with this festival! Image from Supriya's home. |
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| And we recreated Cinderella's wedding too! Image from Supriya's home. |
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| A quick stop for a snack in a "Dosa Shop" And we are good to go! Image from Supriya's home. |
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| Finally, my most favorite part of the doll arrangement - The Dasavatharam. I have a full post dedicated to the fascinating legend behind these 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu. Stay tuned. But here's Kalki. The current lord of the corrupt world! He is standing in the shadow of the eras bygone...Image from Supriya's home. |
So, my dear dear readers. Was this a joyous respite for you? Did this post rekindle childhood memories? Do tell. What is your favorite Dasara or Navarathri memory?
And thank you really, thank you for being part of my virtual Dasara celebration. The festival is no fun without you!
Love,
Supriya
p.s. and by popular demand!! The entire picture!!
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| Dasara Bombe...Image from Supriya's home. |
just stumbled upon your blog, it's so colourful!
ReplyDeleteLovely post. Very cultural and colourful.
ReplyDeleteOishee! I hope that was a serendipitous stumble! :) Please do coming back. Aalayam is a veritable cornucopia of India Inspired colors, cuisines and cultures. We are just barely skimming the surface and we have a long way to go. For instance, how does Navarathri get celebrated in the Bengali culture? What are the well loved traditions for you?
ReplyDeleteLove,
Supriya
Supriya,
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and for commenting! Happy Dasara to you!
Love,
Supriya
Lovely arrangement. I loved the elephant procession the most. We have similar live elephant processions for festivals in Kerala. Amazingly intricate and detailed work on each of the figurines, which makes them come alive. I can imagine what wonderful stories we could weave just looking at each scenes.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. It was a visual delight and I loved vibrant colors :)
ReplyDeleteRadhika, Thank you! and that is my favorite arrangement too. As I was telling Oishee, we are striving to bring the multi cultural hues to the Indian festivals into Aalayam. From different states of India. It is such a blessing to be part of this enormous and intricate kaleidoscope of tradition and culture no? And what better way to keep it alive than through social media?
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting!
Love,
Supriya
Disha - thank you!! How did you (are you) celebrate/ing Dasara this year?
ReplyDeleteLove,
Supriya
Supriya..it's absolutely amazing..I mean the colors, dolls everything stunning but I would hv loved to see the pics of the steps all decked up to see how everything looks together. Elephant procession..wow!!
ReplyDeleteNayana - guess what!! I have a surprise for you in the blog! Check it out. I have updated the entire picture. Thank you though. I received an overwhelming response when I posted these pics on Facebook as well. And I am so touched. This makes the habba so special for me. Ordinarily (in India), I would be visiting folks, people would be coming over. But here, in the USA, I had my American friends over, but the volume of traffic of people coming in and out of the house is still not the same! Sharing these pics on Facebook and on the blog, make up for it!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!!!! And a Happy Dasara to you!
Love,
Supriya
The habba is amazing. So beautiful it brought me out of lurkdom :)
ReplyDeleteKudos to both you & Deepa for a fab job. I am from Bombay so don't have memories of habba (in fact I learned about it after I came to the U.S.!!) but Dasera is very special to us. I have fond memories of going along with my friends to my neighbors' homes with leaves of the "apta" trees that symbolize gold. Fun times.
I am enjoying all your festival posts S & D...I tend to go overboard at this time myself :) I hope you have lots more Diwali posts planned for us :)
Thoroughly enjoyed this piece! This is my second year of bombe setup and I was so trilled with a couple of my new additions - the Dashavatara and Ashta lakshmis. I loved your Shetty angadi...its on my list of 'must buys' during my next trip to India! The circus arrangement is adorable too.
ReplyDeleteAshwini! You bet!! I have one more Dasara special lined up! And Deepa has the trademark Aalayam Diwali covered! You will not be disappointed, I assure you. Also lined up is a gorgeous festive Indian brand of clothing, decor and accessories. Our Aalayam family is sure to be delighted the rest of the festive season.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by an commenting. Tell me more about the Apta trees! It is fascinating isnt it? India? Unity in Diversity - a phrase I am understanding the meaning of now..
Love,
Supriya
Oh I had a question for you both. Where do you buy the dolls? Are they available outside Bangalore and out of season? I collect dolls from all over the world (yes I know, I refuse to grow up. where's the fun in that?!) and would love the groom and bride dolls to add to my collection :)
DeleteAshwini, I hear you! And I love your spirit. It is one after my own heart! I have not found Pattada Bombe or the Groom and Bride Dolls online here. Bangalore markets are full of these lil couples, decorated in festive ensembles! If you know someone in Bangalore, please ask them to get a pair for you NOW and ship it! I will keep an eye out for you in case I spot one.
DeleteAnother place to check out might be the Bhutala Emporium in NYC. It has gorgeous collectible figurines for the home and for Dasara. PLEASE also visit Ten Thousand Villages if it is there in your city or online. You will find dolls and artifacts from all over the world!!
http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/
Check out also a few retailers on Etsy like the one below:
http://www.etsy.com/au/listing/157345266/vintage-elephant-figurine-metal-handmade
http://www.etsy.com/listing/118995829/indian-hand-made-royal-camel-gold
Div!! Thank you my lady! Please do share your bombe pictures. Shetty Angadi is fun isn't it? I plan to increase my bombe miniature collections as the years go by! I am now making do with a combination of kids' toys that I smuggle into my collection, and my own Channapatna and other Desi treasures!
ReplyDeleteHappy Dasara to you!
Love,
Supriya
These are just adorable. Can I come over to play with them. I am not really a festival person but you might just make a convert out of me!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteMyself Prachi pal. I am very much excited to join this community. Its my pleasure to take part of the discussion. Good luck that in this path I will share different matters discuss and gain knowledge through this way, not only gain knowledge but also salve many more questions.
Hayagrivas sarees online shopping
Did I miss the The Dasavatharam post? If so please redirect me there. Its a visual treat and I have had some of those toys as a kid, we don't do navrathri gollu after seeing this post am pushed as close to do it next year, your will be the inspiration. Thanks for the wonderful post
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteYour deco is amazing. Please tell me how did you make the steps? What did you use to make them? Where did you get your decorations from? Thank you in advance.
i need info regarding this .... kindly reply me abt ur details on priya.kulkarni678@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI love such traditional stuff and draping pure Kanchipuram silk sarees they look so elegant and classy.
ReplyDelete