Dussehra 2022: Insight into how Delhi effigy makers are back in business post Covid-19

By Yash Kumar
New Delhi [India], September 27 : The excitement of the festival season is at its peak. Beginning from Navratri in September, festivals are lined up one after the other.
The holy festival of Dussehra is just around the corner, and the preparations have already started to celebrate it. Every year, Dussehra is celebrated to commemorate the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram killed Ravana on this day.
The festival is celebrated in full swing across the country, by burning the effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran, and Meghnath.
After a hiatus of a few years, the effigy business is getting back on track.
Naveen, a local artisan at Titarpur, Delhi, told ANI, "People are coming back in huge numbers to book Ravan effigies. Due to Covid, during the past few years the business was not so good, but things are getting better now and customers are back. But now, the rates of effigies are a bit high as compared to previous times, now it costs Rs 500 per foot. We began the preparation 2 months ahead of the festival and we start the deliveries 2 days before Dussehra."

"During Covid, Ravan idols were made in fewer numbers, we used to create only small mannequins of 5 feet and 10 feet, for the common people who can burn those effigies on the streets. But this year, the situation is quite different, we are celebrating every festival and the effigy business is also going really well, and the craze among the people for Dussehra is very high and we are flooded with bookings this year. This year we will see a good hike in sales, we have been working day and night for the past two months to create these effigies. We create effigies from 5 feet to 50 feet and the pricing begins from Rs 500 per foot, "Sonu, a local artist said.
On being asked whether the firecracker ban has affected the sales in Delhi or not, Naveen said, "No, it doesn't matter, we only construct the effigies, it's the customer's choice to put firecrackers in it or not, they do it by themselves. People opt for eco-friendly firecrackers to create less pollution during Dussehra."

In a conversation with ANI, effigy maker Poonam said, "Yes we are facing a big loss due to the firecracker ban from Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi. Every year CM Kejriwal puts a ban on firecrackers, during Diwali everyone bursts crackers but only during Dussehra, he puts a ban on them. We don't put crackers in the effigies, people bring them and put them on their own. But because of the ban, there has been a huge downfall in the number of clients. Mostly, the customers cancel their already booked orders due to the ban. If the government doesn't want us to do our business then simply tell us, we don't want to face loss at the last moment."
"The number of firecrackers has now been reduced from 500 to 300 by CM Kejriwal. We don't put crackers in the mannequins, that's the customer's call whether to put crackers or not," Mahendar Karari, Ravan effigy creator told ANI.

Apart from making effigy during the festive season, local vendors indulge in their different businesses for the rest of the year for their source of income.
"Dussehra festival comes once a year, and we have our other source of income as well. I am a driver for the whole year. But during Dussehra, I make Ravan since my childhood in Titarpur, said Naveen.

Karari said, "We work in the hotel line during the whole year, and some of us work in brass bands during the marriage season, and some people work at local sweet shops."
In some regions, the celebration--also known as Vijayadashami--celebrates Goddess Durga's triumph over the buffalo Demon Mahishasura.
Dussehra is observed on the day Dashami Tithi (tenth date) of the Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight) of the Ashwin month falls during the Aparahan Kaal.
This year Dussehra falls on October 5.