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Where puppets meet matryoshkas

Dolls and dioramas will be on display at a two-day college festival by history students

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Doll-themed event to be inaugurated by patron of the arts Pheroza Godrej on Wednesday and (Right) Professor Anita Rane-Kothare
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There'll be dolls, doll houses and entire (doll) villages, but don't expect to be greeted by Barbie at Vividha, the annual college festival hosted by Mumbai's St Xavier's College. The two-day, doll-themed event, to be inaugurated by patron of the arts Pheroza Godrej on Wednesday January 11, will be the fruitition of weeks of labour by the college's nearly 150 graduate and post-graduate history students.

While dolls may seem like an unlikely theme for history students, Professor Anita Rane-Kothare points out that dolls have been part of every culture for centuries. "But given the rise of technology and internet as well as growing conflict in many parts of the world, our children have forgotten how to play with dolls," says Professor Rane-Kothare, who heads the Ancient Indian Culture department at the college. "So dolls is a common element to gather everyone — kids and adults alike — and unite for a better future world. The post-graduate students learn how to create dioramas (a miniature set depicting a scene) for their museuology course and learn about tangible and intangible cultural heritage through this."

Vividha, now in its 17th year, will also see the release of the department's annual magazine, RCA, featuring doll-themed research articles. On display at the festival will be a variety of dolls and diaoramas puppet shows, food stalls, student stalls selling handmade keychains, bookmarks, badges, etc. "We have dolls from across the world, including from Sri Lanka, Japan, Russia and Brazil," says Professor Rane-Kothare. "And apart from antique dolls, we will also showcase traditions, such as Golu, wherein deity dolls are on display in south India during Navratri, and the Nativity scene showing an entire village with santons."

(Vividha is open to students and adults from 10.30 to 4.30 from January 11-12 at St Xavier's College, Mumbai)

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