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NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 16, 2004: Advent of technology and modernization may have changed the face of almost everything including the festivities but there is a small group of people keeping alive the traditional way of celebrating the victory of good over evil. A handful of artists, called the Ravana Makers, are working overnight on the pavements near the band market at Titarpur to build effigies of Ravana that would be burnt on Dussehra with pomp and gaiety. “There are about 10-15 shops on this stretch of road which prepare effigies of Ravana for Dussehara. We establish these shops one or two month before the festival and sometime work for 18-20 hours to complete the demand,” says Subhash, who has been doing the job for about a decade now.



As part of the Dusshehra festivities all over the country, people burn the effigies of Ravana, his son Meghanad and brother Kumbhakaran to mark the victory of Lord Rama over the Lankan ruler thousands of years ago. The artists here prepare effigies ranging from a height of six feet to about 20 feet with the help of bamboo sticks, use clothes, paper and stuff fire crackers in them. The entire process of building the effigy has remained the same as it was earlier with the artists first preparing the figure by tying the bamboo sticks and then decorating it. Most of the artists working here have learnt the art from their elders and other family members and then train the next generation in turn, Subhash notes. PTI

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