Mysuru Homes Keep Heritage Alive With Elaborate Dasara Doll Displays

Traditional doll displays known as Bombe Mane have returned to households across Mysuru as the Dasara festival begins, showcasing a wide range of mythological and cultural figures.

The Ramachandra Agrahara Display

A house located at 2nd Cross in Ramachandra Agrahara has maintained its annual doll exhibition for three decades. Curated by Hemalatha Kumaraswamy and her family, the display occupies a dedicated floor and features a vast array of figures set up across nine tiered platforms. The central theme focuses on avatars of Rama and Krishna, along with stories from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, traditional Pattada Raja Rani dolls, and figures of Shakuntala and King Dushyanta. Special custom-made pieces highlight scenes from the Mysuru palace, including the grand royal procession, the private durbar, the Nandi Dhwaja, traditional wrestling matches, and past members of the royal family, alongside miniature models of historic city landmarks built during the rule of the Wadiyars. Family lifecycle events like weddings and naming ceremonies are also depicted. The dolls are collected from across the country, drawing visitors from Mysuru and other cities.

Changing Traditions and Other City Homes

Despite the ongoing celebrations, Hemalatha notes that the custom is slowly fading in the city as younger generations lose interest and older family members pass away, leading many homes to stop setting up displays. Elsewhere in Mysuru, at 5th Main in Saraswathipuram, Sundareshan and Bhanumathi Sundareshan have arranged a patriotic-themed exhibit using artistic creations made from waste materials. Their home features large figures honouring the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and Queen Kittur Chennamma. They invite children every evening to teach them about the custom and hand out gift bags known as Bombe Bagina. In Vijayanagara 3rd Stage, a medical professional named Dr. Pooja maintains a collection of dolls over a century old. During Navaratri, she dresses her Chamundeshwari doll in saries that match the daily colours of the presiding deity at Chamundi Hill. Several other residents across different neighbourhoods are also hosting doll displays under the Mane Mane Gombe initiative.

Context

Displaying dolls during the autumn Navaratri festival is a deeply rooted cultural custom in parts of southern India, particularly in Karnataka during Mysuru Dasara. Families pass down these heirloom figurines through generations, using the exhibits to tell stories from epics and local history while welcoming neighbours and children into their homes.