October 2015
Over
the years you have vaguely heard of a village in West Delhi that churns out
effigies of Ravan. And in this turning out to be an incredible October 2015 you
find yourself in Titarpur, not once but twice in the space of ten days.
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| Najafgarh Road going all Psychedelic |
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| The Procession of fluorescent Ravan and his family members stretching from Rajouri Garden Metro Station to Tagore Garden and beyond - This is us styling |
On
the busy Najafgarh Road that straddles the West Delhi Colonies of Rajouri
Garden and Tagore Garden, there is a long procession of garish dismembered Ravan parts
sitting on every available space: on either side of the road, on the divider
over which the metro whizzes by and even on parked buses!
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| Matching Matching |
You
start walking from the Rajouri Garden metro station towards Tagore Garden. The
fluorescent faces soon make their appearance. You have just tripped into
Ravanworld. Ravans seem to have mushroomed everywhere. Konkan had ferns growing
out of walls; Najafgarh Road here is sprouting Ravans. And they are all in neon
colours – yellow, green, orange, magenta, black and silver.
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| 'My name is Ravan' - Any Questions? |
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| Gotta love Ravan's moustache stylists |
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| Work that will make Kinari Bazaar proud |
It
is about to get worse. There is this itch just below the ear but Ravan, try as
much, can’t scratch it. There is a technical hitch - his dismembered limbs are
piled up in a corner. Those arms and legs will be assembled later. But then
there will be more important things to worry about than an itch behind the ear.
Like arrowheads spewing fire hurtling towards the torso. Wait a minute – where is his torso. Oh no, the
torso is getting the Kinari Bazaar treatment. Now how much humiliation can
Ravan take!
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| Dude get some shades alright, I think I just caught conjunctivitis from you |
Just
few days are left for Dusshera and the body parts are getting last minute
touches. Silver foils as gnashing teeth are being pasted in red gummed mouths;
moustaches are getting christened with names like Don No 1; eyes are getting
red treatment – you are not sure but then this is viral season and maybe the
Ravans have conjunctivitis. In some cases, to dispel any doubts, the head and
chin has horns growing in demonic glory.
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| Ravanas for all budgets under Tagore Garden Metro Station, Delhi |
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| Junior Ravans |
Customers
negotiate prices for the smaller Ravans. The workers inform that most of the big ones have already been sold; you can overhear customers share their preferences
in terms of decoration. The real large ones are made to order. Soon they will
be loaded up and delivered to customer locations. The effigies will be armed with crackers
during assembly and installation.
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| This is where and how it all starts |
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| Torso Frames covered with cloth |
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| Cloth covered frames being glued with brown wrapping - Job for Superman. Photography is hazardous on the road divider here - again job for a superman! |
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| Work in Progress - Ravana Making at Titarpur Delhi |
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| Metamorphosis |
You
had come a week before. Apparently, you were too early to see any colour. Then
the assembly line of Ravans was just beginning to hum. Building of an effigy
happens in stages. First bamboo sticks are split and tied together with metal
wire to form the skeleton or the frames of face, crown, torso and limbs. Old
sarees are then wrapped around the frames. On this brown paper is pasted to
give shape to the forms. Now the brown coloured shell is ready to get its
colours.
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| Fluorescent Fare |
And
the makers go crazy with the radioactive colours.
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| Before & After - notice the cool eye-lashes, gothic deal going on! |
Titarpur
has always been making effigies. Fifty years ago, the revered Ravan Baba, a
businessman who sold funereal items, started making the ten-headed Ravan, King
of Lanka. He would make only ten of them. Kids watching him learned the art.
The skill passed from generation to generation. So while the Titarpur artisans
work as drivers, mechanics, painters and carpentars in other months, they
transform into ravan makers during this period preceding Dusshera. Ravan Baba
has turned Titarpur into a factory that probably produces largest number of
effigies.
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| My Labour of Love |
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| OK Tata Bye Bye Alvida - Until Next Year - Titarpur is blessed with Ravan's presence and they want him back |
And
like any artisan who wants to see his work to live forever, the people of
Titarpur hate to see their work of passion go up in flames. Ravan maybe the
chief antagonist in Ramayan who is killed by Lord Ram in a triumph of good over
evil but in Titarpur he is worshipped because to people of Titarpur he is a
blessing and who provides them livelihood every year.
But
then rest of the world considers Ravan evil and evil has to go. As we joyfully watch
the effigies of Ravan, Meghnad and Kumbhkaran go up in flames, do spare a
thought for the Ravan makers of Titarpur. Through their work, they want us to
purge the Ravan within us. The burning Ravan will ask the crowd – ‘Is there a
Ram out there?’
Travel Tips
Visit like three to four days before Dusshera when most of the effigies are ready and the entire stretch is a riot of colour. But yes if you want to see the entire transformation from a bundle of bamboo sticks to the 'ready to ignite' stage, then an additional visit about 15 days before Dusshera is recommended.
Getting There
Take the Yellow Line metro and get down at Rajouri Garden. Now just walk on the Najafgarh Road towards Tagore Garden.
References
Something different and very interesting !! Few things here that caught my eye and fancy : the twirling moustaches and neon colours of course, the cool dude Ravan who is saying Ta ta bye bye - I might be blown up in flames but you enjoy the fireworks. Will be back next year. See you soon ! And and and Ravan baba !!! No mom would name her son Ravan. Am sure he earned that nome de plume because of his effigy building deeds. Wondering what could have been his original name ?!
ReplyDeleteRam and Ravan are both within us. Isn't life a struggle in keeping our good alive and facing our demons and killing them ? But then, what is good and bad these days ? The lines between them have blurred. We are living in Kaliyuga; the Age of Grey as I call it; where there is no black or white but only greys.
Lovely worded Zehra!
DeleteTo the people of Titarpur, Ravan brings food to the table and therefore is revered and worshipped.
In Titarur, it would not be improbable if kids got named Ravan!
And Ravan too had his good qualities. Only if he heard to good advice by his brother. But then without this ego there would have been no Mahabharat or the burning down of Lanka.
And still it is so hard for all of us to give up our ego. I guess that is why we are living in Kaliyug.
Thanks for visiting!