NCR gets ready to say alvida Ravan, yet again

A hub for effigy-makers, Tatarpur area in Tagore Garden currently looks like an open art gallery with hundreds of brightly coloured, hand-crafted effigies of Ravana, Meghnaad and Kumbhkarana lined up on the pavements

Cinema-inspired one-liners like Ravan jhukega nahi and phrases like Don No 1 have found their way onto Ravan's iconic imperial moustache

Little effigies, as small as two feet, are a rage this year."Hum chhote putle har saal banate hain, ye chhote bachchon ke khelne ke liye hain. Kam se kam iss gaon ke 100 ghar aise chhote putle bana rhe hain," says Anand, who along with other families made over 10,000 such Ravans in three months. The smallest effigy is priced at Rs 250

From two to 50 feet tall, effigies for all heights are available between Tagore Garden metro station and Subhash Nagar metro station. The bigger ones - usually burnt at parks and maidans - are sold at Rs 500 - Rs 1,000 a foot


The bamboo skeleton of the effigy's face is covered with old packaging paper.

The body's bamboo skeleton is covered with old cotton fabrics, then with packaging sheets and finally layered with colourful florescent sheets. The back portion of the effigy is painted with carbon black, which is highly flammable. The glue used in the process is made by boiling arrowroot powder


Pics: Lokesh Kashyap