Cracker Ban in Delhi Dampens Biz but Effigy Makers Hopeful About 'Good Dussehra'

Many effigy makers have attributed the low demand to the firecracker ban in Delhi.

The last time Sarvesh had a 'good Dussehra' was in 2019, when she raced against time to build several 25-feet tall Ravana effigies. She earned decent money for it. COVID-19 and the lockdown, however, put her out of business through 2020 and 2021.

This year, 39-year-old Sarvesh and others like her have returned to their workshops on a pavement in west Delhi’s Titarpur village, where many have been making effigies for over 20 years.  

“Teen saal baad Dussehra kar rahein hain. Sabko ummeed thi ki maal zyaada bikega. Par jab patakhe hi nahi honge to Ravan kaise jalega. (Dussehra is being celebrated after three years. Everyone hoped that there would be more sale this year but that’s not the case. There are no firecrackers, how will the Ravana burn?)” asked Sarvesh.

Four days before Dussehra, which is on 5 October, The Quint visited Titarpur village where over 50 people put together bamboo sticks, painted the many faces of Ravana, and awaited buyers.   

'Barely Able To Make Even'

Titarpur is located 3 km away from Tagore Garden metro station in west Delhi, behind a mall. At the village, a family of eight toiled – almost like clockwork – breathing life into the many Ravanas.  

The pandemic threw off normalcy and dampened festivities, and now the effigy makers of Titarpur are hoping to recover their losses. “Umeedein toh bohot thi par kharcha bhi mushkil se nikal raha hai (We had high hopes but are barely able to make-even),” said 35-year-old Rama, who oversees this effigy business.   

Rama usually hires around 10 people from August-October to make effigies, and pays them Rs 300 a day. This year, however, she has not been able to hire anyone. “There is no demand this year,” said Rama. She has roped in her son Rudra, her younger sister Sudha and Sudha’s two sons to give finishing touches to the effigies.

Many like Rama attribute this low demand to the firecracker ban in Delhi. On 7 September, the Delhi government announced a blanket ban on the production, sale and use of firecrackers till 1 January 2023, owing to air pollution during the festive season and deteriorating air quality.

“We are artisans and by banning the firecrackers, we’ve been hit hard. No one thought about us,” said Rama.

This year, the effigy makers of Titarpur have decided not to fill the hollow bodies of Ravana with firecrackers. “We are not even putting green crackers, which are less polluting and are permitted. The buyers can decide on their own,” said Rama's sister Sudha. 

"Humko jhanjhat mein phasna he nahi hai (We don't want to get into the hassle)," said an effigy maker. He added, "The RWAs and Ramlila-waalahs can decide if they want to fill the effigies with green crackers or the 'usual' ones which are banned."

Speaking about the last two years when effigy makers were hardly in business due to COVID-19 and the lockdown, Sudha, an artisan, told The Quint, "This year is at least better than last year. Pichle saal to karza lekar khaana khaaya tha (Last year, we had to take money on loan just to eat)."

Even though the firecracker ban, and the rains last week dampened the effigies and the spirit of their creators, several are still optimistic about their sales. “Abhi kuch din aur baaki hai,” said 28-year-old Sanjay, as he loaded the Ravana for his eleventh-hour deliveries.  

The Process

“Even though the sale in Delhi is mellow, people from Rohtak, Bahadurgarh, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Sonepat, are buying in large numbers,” said Sarvesh, as she supervised the work of a painter who skilfully accentuated Ravana’s features. 

Her husband Harthroop shaved off the bamboo to start making a new one from scratch. The skeleton of the effigies, which are 4-25 feet tall, is made of bamboos, which are sourced from Samaypur Badli, on the outskirts of Delhi. 

The bamboo is then peeled off, so that it can be bent, and tied using thin steel wires. The skeleton is then given layers of skin – the first is made of old sarees and bedsheets, and the second from thick paper salvaged from milk cartons. It is then bound solid using locally-made glue by mixing arrow root in boiling water.  

“It takes us five days to finish one effigy,” said Harthroop.

Sometimes, artisans get odd requests too – a Bahubali effigy being one of them.

"Apart from this, we make effigies of Ravana's relatives Meghnad and Kumbhakarana too, on special orders," said an artisan.  

“Ek Ravana pe 50 kg kaagaz chadhta hai (It takes 50 kg of paper to make one large-sized Ravana effigy),” said Rama. The paper comes from milk cartons.

Meanwhile, Rudra, a 16-year-old boy, too helped his parents prepare the effigies. “Abhi bohot Ravana banane hain. Main aaj school nahi gaya. Paisa kama ke iPhone khareedunga. (I have to make a lot of Ravana effigies. I didn’t go to school today. I will earn money here and buy an iPhone,” said Rudra.  

Along with his cousins, Rudra put glue on sheets of coloured glazed paper, and pasted them on Ravana’s hourglass body. He painted the mythological character’s thick, serpentine moustache, and pasted colourful paper for his eyes.  

It is pertinent to note that effigy making is a seasonal job only, and many makers have other jobs through the year for sustenance.

Sarvesh and Harthroop, for instance, sell flowers at Delhi’s Ghazipur mandi through the year. “We bank on this period because this is when we earn better money that helps us through the year. We take a break from selling flowers two months before Dussehra for effigies. We have been doing this for 25 years, and sell the tallest effigy for Rs 25,000,” said Sarvesh.  

By August, workshops come up in the narrow bylanes and public parks in Titarpur village. The effigy makers use garbage cans as ladders to work on these tall structures, and abandoned DTC buses as easels. 

Then there are those like Bhoora Ravanwala, who makes effigies for those who can’t afford it – homeless children nearby. “Jinke paas paisa nahi hai, unko bhi to tyohaar manane ka haq hai (Those who don’t have money also deserve to celebrate the festival),” said Ravanwala, as he finished an effigy made out of waste.