During This Time Of The Year, Titarpur Village Becomes A Hub For Ravan Effigy Making!

Dussehra, a celebration of the victory of good over evil is a festival we all love marked by watching the humongous effigy of Ravan, the epic villain of our mythologies, being burnt to the ground. But let's rewind a little and take you to the hub where these effigies are built and tell you all about how they're created and come into form - in all shapes, colours and sizes!

Titarpur is one of those dusty urban villages in Delhi that has been swallowed up by urban expansion. While it looks like any other village during the rest of the year, it assumes a completely different look during the festive season, especially Dussehra!

Taking You Through The Hub

Titarpur is known for the seasonal industry of Ravan effigy making. The artisans here are responsible for almost all the effigies that we gleefully burn on the night of Dussehra. They spend more than a month every year building these effigies, only to see them get burnt, just like various idol-makers see their creations get immersed in the water.

Apparently, the trend started here more than 50 years ago when one of the residents started making effigies and the rest followed suit. Apart from effigy making, Titarpur artists offer their services on various related businesses as well. There are a lot of bands lined on both sides of the road, ready to be hired for any occasion from marriages to political rallies, however, traditionally they are also known for making items for funerals both for Hindu and Muslim rituals.

You don’t have to enter the village to witness these artisans at work. Due to the sheer benefits of easy visibility, all of them nowadays set up shop around the Tagore Garden Metro Station on the Blue Line, which is in the vicinity of the village. In fact, some of them can be seen even on the compound of the metro station itself while the rest occupy the footpaths and even the road divider is used for displaying the effigies.

Hard At Work

The work starts one to two months before Dussehra. Initially, they build the basic frame for the effigies with bamboo and straw. Final colouring and decoration is done at the last stage and the full face of Ravan becomes visible barely a week before the event. The artists here earn reasonably during this season, however, once it’s over they have a long wait of a year. Other kinds of work is available, but mostly at a smaller scale and usually not as lucrative.

Skyrocketing Bamboo Prices

While the effigies remain in demand, the artisans have their own struggles. The basic frames are made of bamboo, which is then given final shape with colourful clothes and paper. When we visited, we could see the bamboo frames coming up although the full shapes would be visible only a week before Dussehra. Rising prices of these raw materials are making it difficult to maintain profitability, but they are also trying to find new avenues. Since the area holds a certain reputation, some of them are even getting overseas orders from the Indian diaspora, however, they still have a long way to go.

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy Dussehra in advance! 

Where | Near Tagore Garden Metro, Najafgarh Road