I’m much entertained and educated at the various kolus that I visit. Little vignettes of life that I see in each drawing room seem as intriguing to me as the dolls decorated and arranged before us.

A lady, with her eyes devoutly closed through the group chanting of the Lakshmi Sahasra Naamam, busily giving instructions on the mobile phone, to her maid, and then her husband, both in exactly the same tone….I dread to think of what will happen if those grimly stated instructions are not followed….

A little girl, keen on photographing the dolls on a higher step, brushing into crookedness, the carefully drawn rangoli on the floor, and the pleasantness of disposition of the hostess, who assures the girl, and her mother, that it is all right…

A little boy, brought to the kolu by his mother, keenly eyeing the sundal and sweets kept at the side of the table, and waiting eagerly until the plate is offered to him…. the goodies are gone in a few quick chomps, and then the whispering begins, “Can we go now?”>….

Wearing a silk saree, sitting on leather cushions, with side tables that are cut tree-trunks, a lady pontificating on how much she loves nature…. loudly interrupting another young girl trying to sing….

Sweet voices of young girls, and sometimes an uninhibited boy, lifted in song at each gathering…and sometimes less-than-sweet renditions, too, rendered, however, with great devotion….

Petty comments of “Oh, at XYZ’s place they had printed bags, not ordinary ones!” Women who bustle in with mock-complaints of how many people they have to visit and how little time they have…

Husbands waiting at home to see what varieties of sundal have been brought home….

The delightful chaos of completely unconnected figures of gods, dancers, people, animals, and things, all jumbled up together on the steps of the displays….

Small slices of life, and social interaction, that are wonderful to observe.