I went down memory lane and into dusty archives of my blog as well to bring this old post from a decade ago (September 23, 2014) back to life.

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Down Memory Lane 

Navratri – the name always conjures memories of garba and golu for me. The garba dances we used to enjoy avoiding when we were younger (around 10 or so) and dancing when we were a little older (in our teens) where I grew up; the golus in various Tamil homes in our colony – including my favorite one – ours!

Mom made out the list of invitees – all the ladies in the colony – on sheets of paper – arranged in the order of their addresses – with a column for them to sign in and let her know if they could attend and when. My job (and I always had my best friend with me) was to walk around the colony up and down stairs, ringing bells and convincing everyone (they did not need it though as they always enjoyed the display and the food that mom laid out each year) to attend, and of course, sampling the sweets, savories, and the yummy drinks many of the aunties invariably ended up giving us as we must be tired with all the walking. 

The photo below is of a Navratri Golu from years ago with my paternal grandparents who were among the simplest and strongest people I knew, and smartest too.

A Tutorial and A Walk Down Memory Lane via the Golu Steps

Then

Setting up the steps was an event in itself – wooden planks from shelves, books, biscuit tin cans, random pieces of furniture all made their way to the golu setup area – and we arranged them all to get our 7 steps. Now, mom uses the readymade metal steps for golu each year.

Later

Here in the US, I worked with makeshift golu steps too all these for many years.  They have been made using, as mentioned earlier –  books, planks from bookshelves, and other random pieces of furniture put together. That requires a lot of imagination on how we can use the things we have around the house (the ones that are currently usable at that time!).

This time, In 2014, I was without a few important furniture pieces needed for the makeshift steps and decided it was time to make one that can be dismantled and stored easily at the end of the festival for use next year. Thanks to posts here at ThinkingWood and here at Love & Lentil, we were able to build our first very own padi. Check it out in the next main section: How to Build Your Own Navratri Golu Padi.

Now

This year, I am taking a different path. Back to the basics with a diy step arrangement for various reasons. One is my need to scale it down just a bit for this year. The other – simply because!

I will post photos of this year’s golu later this week. As of now, it is a blank slate with the steps ready for the dolls.

How to Build Your Own Navratri Golu Padi

Items we used:

• 5-Step Stair Risers – 2 – each $24.97 ~$50 $50 – $100
• 3 in. Zinc Plated Corner Braces (4-Pack)– 1 packet – $3.87 ~$4
• 1 in.* 10 in. * 8 ft. Common Board – 3 (cut into half to get 6 4 ft. planks) – each $20 ~ $60  $13.71 ~$40
• Redwood Square End Balusters – 2 – each $2.49 ~$5
• Nuts and Bolts and Washers. Total cost of these below was less than $20 (and we bought the washers in bulk)
• 3/8 in.-16 tpi x 4 in. Zinc-Plated Hex Bolt with nuts and washers needed for them – 4 (for stair riser to vertical support
• 1/4 in. bolts with nuts and washers needed for them – 16 (stair riser to horizontal supports)

Total Cost ~$120 $200

What we did

• Mark and then drill holes into the wood pieces where required
• The bolts used to put the pieces together
  • the L-shaped ones were used to attach the horizontally running supporting planks with the stair risers
  • regular screws with nuts and bolts were used to attach the vertical supports to the stair risers. 

Photos of how we attached them together (from both sides) below

So here it is – in its I-am-waiting-for-the-planks form – our 5 steps golu padi. 
Dimensions: 
4 ft length by 4 ft depth by 3 ft height

We then arranged the planks on the stair risers. Note there is no need to nail or screw them on! Just place them on the stair risers. Next, cover with a cloth of your choice. Based on experience and tradition, I have noticed that plain white works best. This displays the dolls – the stars of the event – to the best advantage.

(2014 footnote: Maybe I should have stuck to a plain color for the background too where I have the maroon with gold leaves but I am going to see how this works this time.)

The End Results

Here are a few different golu arrangements over the years (pre and post these steps) (including those post the 2014 original posting date!)

Related Reads and More

• Navratri Golu: The Stories of the Marapachi Dolls and More
• Navratri Kolu – Down Memory Lane and Back to the Present with How Tos, Whys and Whats – Part 2
• Bid Goodbye to the Golu Dolls For This Year
• 10 Great Books for Fantastic Fall Festivals from India
• As I was looking for a different way to set it up this year(2024), I realized I could just use a metal planter too for the golu during the festival, and use it in the yard (or elsewhere) for another purpose for the rest of the year. Like this one, or this one. You could put a couple (or more) of them together to make it fit your needs

10 Indian Mythology Related Hyped Reads I Need to Get To

Here are a few reads I have been meaning to get to at some point. They are related to Indian mythology (especially those whose stories are highlighted during Navratri). If you have read them or heard of them, do let me know if they are worth the hype/the author/the etcs…

1. Ram: Scion of Ikshvaku (Ramachandra Series: Book 1) by Amish Tripathi
2. Sita: Warrior of Mithila (Ramachandra Series: Book 2) by Amish Tripathi
3. Raavan: Enemy of Aryavarta (Ramachandra Series: Book 3) by Amish Tripathi
4. War of Lanka (Ramachandra Series: Book 4) by Amish Tripathi
5. Ravana: Roar of the Demon King: A Graphic Novel by Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia (author) and Sachin Nagar (Illustrator). For 10 – 17 years, and up.
6. The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
7. The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
8. Karna’s Wife: The Outcast’s Queen by Kavita Kane
9. Jaya: The Great Indian Epics Retold #1 by Devdutt Patnaik
10. Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel 

For Top Ten Tuesday over at ThatArtsyReaderGirl where this week’s theme is all about the hype.

And Now, the End of this Post

Dear reader, I invite you to share any Navratri Golu memories you have or other celebrations and traditions in your family. Take a walk down memory lane with me!