A gollu doll is a doll that is carved out of wood and dressed in fabric. It can also be carved out of marble and painted. The clothes are traditional clothes from where you are from.  Gollu dolls can come in sets which are showcased on the holiday of Navratri. The holiday of Navratri is a Hindu holiday which honors three Hindu goddesses. It takes place in November. In Navratri, people invite their friends to their houses to see their gollu sets. My mother said that her favorite part of Navratri growing up was, “Going to my friend’s house and seeing their gollu. Eating the food that the hosts prepared. The hosts always prepared lots of food.” The gollu doll represents both my Hindu and Indian heritage. My family celebrates gollu today. We keep traditional dolls as well as dolls from place we visited. My mom tells me about the stories behind the dolls when we set them up each year for Navratri. The gollu doll was one of the few things that my mother brought from India when she moved to America. I will continue to practice the tradition of Navratri and pass it on to the next generation. 

– Viraj

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