This exquisite Golu doll is over 50 years old and captures the eternal child-like innocence of Krishna as he and his mother, Yashoda, watch a calf feeding from its mother. Recently repainted, the charm of the scene is overwhelming.
Golu brings out the child in all of us. Dolls, settings, decorations – all contribute to boundless fun. To be able to grow up, face the world and yet find within us the essence of innocence keeps us grounded. It is this innocence that Krishna embodies and this story of play captures it for us.
Once upon a time there was a very old lady who wanted to go to the Guruvayur temple.
“But how shall I go?” she asked everyone. “I have no money to take a gift for the Lord Krishna.”
“Don’t go,” said some. “You cannot meet the Lord without a gift.”
“Take nothing,” said others. “The Lord will understand that you are too poor.”
But the old lady wanted to go and wanted to take something.
“After all,” she told everyone, ”Krishna is like a child. I would not go to see a child with nothing.”
One day while sitting outside her home, the lady saw her creeper with beautiful red seeds softly glowing in the twilight.
“Oh how lovely they look,” she said. “I remember how my neighbours children play with them all day.“
And then she had a bright idea. “That’s it. I will take some seeds for Krishna to play.”
Everyone laughed at her.
“Take seeds for Lord Krishna! Don’t be foolish.”
“Seeds! He will be most upset. It is better you do not go or if you do, take nothing.”
But the old lady was adamant, like most old ladies are. She collected a pile of seeds and put them in a little drawstring bag and set off for Guruvayoor.
There were teeming crowds and the body guards of the king had a hard time keeping people in control. When the king appeared in all his splendor leading a beautiful elephant caparisoned in gold and red velvet, the crowds surged forward. That was too much for the old lady who lost her footing and stumbled. She dropped her bag of seeds in the path of the elephant.
A kindly soul standing nearby helped her up, but she shook tried to shake him off.
“My seeds! My seeds!” she cried. “I must get my seeds.”
But the kindly soul would not let her go.
“Granny the elephant will crush you”
“Let me go. I want to get…Oh! Oh! Oh!” In front of her very eyes the elephants huge feet came down on the bag of beautiful red seeds grinding them to dust.
The lady turned away, tears rolling down her wrinkled cheeks. The kindly soul tried to cheer her up.
“You are lucky you did not get injured. Let us go and see Lord Krishna. “
But the old lady sat there shaking her head crying softly to herself. She barely heard the noise and commotion around her.
Slowly she started to take in her surroundings. People were screaming and running helter-skelter. There was a loud trumpeting noise as the elephant went charging by. The elephant had gone mast and nobody could control it.
“Run! Run for your life!” screamed everyone. But the old lady sat there and watched mesmerized.
Finally one of the priests ran into the sanctum of the temple and threw himself at the feet of the deity.
“Help us Oh! Lord! !” he cried in terror. “Only you can help us.”
And the Lord appeared to the priest as a young boy.
“I always love playing with manjadi” he said. “You know those beautiful red seeds you find growing on trees.”
“Not now my Lord,” said the priest. “Now you need to help us with the elephant.”
But Krishna was as capricious as a child. “ Now,” he said. “A sweet old granny brought me a bag of seeds to play and the elephant crushed them. Ask the granny to bring me another bag, then your elephant will calm down.”
With no options the priest ventured out searching for the old granny. He found her sitting on the ground with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“”Granny,” he said, “Lord Krishna wants you to give him another bag of manjadi seeds.”
“But I don’t have any more,” she wailed, the tears coming faster than ever.
Then the priest called everybody nearby.
“Quick! Go into the countryside. Fetch all the manjadi seeds you can find and bring them back.”
People were bewildered. “Manjadi seeds!” But everyone did as they were told.
In a rather short time, the priest came up to the old lady and handed her a bag of seeds. He then took her by her arm and led her into the sanctum. The lady placed her offering and with a toothless smile fell at the feet of the Lord. At the same time the elephant calmed down and order was restored in the temple.
To this day there is a huge brass vessel full of these red seeds in the main hall of the temple. In olden days people would bring these seeds as an offering, but now the significance has been forgotten. The temple officials keep the brass bowl filled and children are encouraged to play with the seeds in honour of Krishna who is always a child at heart.
Ripples Of Life and Time 