Urbanisation and technological innovations have changed the way festivals were celebrated earlier. Some residents used to celebrate ‘BommalaKoluvu’ during Sankranti, but this tradition has slowly faded away. However, B Padmavathi of Hyderabad has kept the tradition alive by displaying unique dolls and idols during the festival. She displays nearly 3,000 dolls.
Padmavathi, a homemaker and resident of Anand Nagar Colony, Khairatabad, said that they usually display toys during Deepavali or Dasara, but at their place, they display them on Sankranti. They have been following this tradition for the past 70 years. Every year, they come up with various concepts for the display, such as an army fighting a war, the Rythu Bazaar depicting vendors and market, and a village atmosphere with cobblers and potters. They also showcase Nirmal toys of tigers, leopards, elephants, and birds like crane and peacock.
Most of the toys are made of clay and wood. It takes almost a week to arrange these toys and dolls in a row. It also takes a few weeks to carefully remove and preserve them for next year’s display. The artifacts on display are from various states in India and overseas, including Nirmal, Kondapalli, China, the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sweden, Finland, and Australia.
