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How A 70-Year-Old Delhi Market Is Now Shipping Effigies To The USA, Canada
'Ravan Chale America': How A 70-Year-Old Delhi Market Is Now Shipping Effigies To The USA, Canada
A 70-year-old traditional market in Delhi is now shipping Ravan effigies to the USA and Canada. This surprising new trend provides a global lifeline to artisans struggling with declining local demand.
With the preparations for the upcoming festival of Dussehra beginning, effigy makers in Delhi's old Tatarpur Ravan Market have received a peculiar order: dispatching miniature effigies of Ravan to the USA and Canada. The market, which has been the hub of effigy-making for more than 70 years, is abuzz with activity despite facing numerous challenges in the works of the artisans.
The Tatarpur Ravan Market in Tagore Garden is again bedecked with Ravan, Meghnad, and Kumbhkaran towering effigies. The year is different this time as per 76-year-old Mahendra Ravan Wale, the effigy maker who has been in the profession for 50 years. "Last year, there were no orders for us from outside the country. But this year, we have already received orders for two Ravan effigies, two to two-and-a-half feet in height, which will be couriered," he added. He hopes to get more orders as the festival approaches.
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In spite of international interest, domestic demand for the effigies has taken a hit, says Sonipat, Haryana-based artisan Raja. "Because of inflation and the ban on firecrackers, the demand for Ravan effigies has fallen considerably," he said. Subhash of Bihar says although he still produces effigies, the enthusiasm and fervor that characterized the process are fading. He noted that even with increasing prices, the retail price has been static at ₹500 per foot for years. The market currently has effigies that are as small as 5 feet and as tall as 50 feet.
The effigy makers are threatened by theft as well, as there are instances of people stealing the effigies in the night. This has compelled the artisans to employ guards to safeguard their work, which is an additional burden on their already stretched budgets. The artisans, who come from different parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana to work at the market, have complained of their disappointment due to the absence of support.
Subhash, awarded for his efforts in Bihar's Gandhi Maidan, was looking to receive more support for the tradition. The artisans had also wished that the demand for the effigies would increase with the advent of a new government, but that has not occurred yet. Despite the shortcomings, the artists are committed to their work, assuring that they will continue making the effigies as long as they are enthusiastic about the profession.
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