Every Navarathri, guests visit many Golu displays and leave with vettalai paaku: betel leaves, areca nut, turmeric, kumkum and a small gift.
Modern American homes do not have access to betel leaves and Areca nut like it is in India, but we have reinterpreted the turmeric and kumkum and gift to be our energy exchange. The idea of sharing our home energy for the year with you all to spread joy is what I try to uphold for vettalai paaku.
This year, I’ve tried to consciously reduce the throw away paper bag option, folding in something I could hand to our visitors. What do you hand someone that carries a little of the festival home?
For two years, I have been sketching, studying and digitizing motifs from the Shilpa Shastra, the classical texts on proportion, form and iconography behind our temples, sculptures and paintings. It began as a practice of looking closely: how a lotus petal is measured, how a peacock’s tail turns into scrollwork, how an elephant is dressed for a procession.
This year, those two years of motifs found their home. For Golu Navarathri 2026, they are becoming stickers in the vettalai paaku goodie bag.
The linework in each sticker keeps the proportions of the original, just scaled down. The colors come from my logo: turquoise, coral red, saffron yellow and ivory, so very different subjects sit together as one family.
The first collection has ten die-cut stickers: a Ganesha, a blue standing figure on a lotus pedestal, a peacock with flowing scrollwork, a decorated elephant, a lotus border panel, a square lotus mandala, a floral spray, a scrollwork medallion, a soft lotus tile, and a round medallion of flowers and vines.
For the children who visit the Golu, a sticker is something to put on a notebook or lunchbox and to ask about. For the grown-ups, it is a small piece of heritage tucked in beside the betel leaf.
Each household got Ganesha, Annapakshi, elephant and Bharata Muni. The kids got the motifs. While I write this, I’m tempted to think beyond Golu goodies; and I need your vote.
POLL: Would you want these beyond Golu?
- Yes, for birthday party return gifts
- Yes, as a sticker pack for myself
- Both
- Just for Navarathri
Vote in the poll or leave your answer in the comments.
I’ve come to play with these stickers, more than the full stack of my A3 size drawings……somehow, the tangible scale and size of them is a fun way to introduce traditional motifs has brought joy to this production.
I would highly appreciate it if you are interested to purchase to take home these stickers for your production or personal consumption. You may contact me here for more details.
Cheers
Radha
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