How Delhi effigy makers bounced back in business post-Covid pandemic

After a hiatus of a couple of years, the effigy business is getting back on track, but slowly. Pre-pandemic, one vendor would sell about 60-100 pieces of effigy every Dusshera. Now, the number has come down to 20-30 pieces.

The festival, celebrated to commemorate the triumph of good over evil as Lord Rama killed Ravana on this day, is celebrated across the country by burning the effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran, and Meghnath.

Apart from making effigies two-three months before the festive season, the artisans usually get their source of income from different businesses for the rest of the year. Many are daily wage labourers from Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar who come to the capital to make an extra buck or more. This year, many of them said, they won't manage to make more than Rs 8,000-Rs 10,000.

Yet, some were hopeful. "People are coming back in huge numbers to book Ravan effigies. Due to Covid, the business was not so good, but things are getting better now," Naveen, an effigy maker from New Delhi's Titarpur, told ANI. For the rest of the year, Naveen works as a driver, but during Dussehra, he has made Ravan since childhood.

"We began the preparation two months before the festival, and we start the deliveries two days before Dussehra," he added.

Not just in India, Delhi's "Ravanwallas" also get special orders to deliver Ravan idols to Indian Diaspora living in the US, South Africa and Australia, among others.

"We even get orders from abroad. We have already delivered Ravans to Australia. There was a huge demand. For delivery, the clients must make all the arrangements independently. We usually take two months to create these idols," Naveen added.

Along with the pandemic, increasing levels of air pollution and the ban on crackers have steadily dipped the demand for effigies.

"We are facing a big loss due to the firecracker ban from Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi. Every year, CM Arvind Kejriwal bans firecrackers. During Diwali, everyone bursts crackers but only during Dussehra, he puts a ban on them," said Poonam, an effigy maker to ANI.

Considering the dangerous condition of Delhi's air pollution during Diwali for the last three years, the Delhi government imposed a complete ban on the storage, sale, and use of all types of firecrackers in 2021.

"We don't put crackers in the effigies. People bring their crackers and put them. But, because of the ban, there has been a huge downfall in the number of clients. Mostly, the customers cancel their orders due to the ban. If the government doesn't want us to do our business, then tell us we don't want to face loss at the last moment," Poonam added.

In 2020, the National Green Tribunal imposed a total ban on the sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Region from November 9 midnight to November 30 midnight.