Ravana effigies in high demand on Dussehra eve

Demon king Ravana's effigies from small to giant sizes which would go up in flames on Dussehra on Friday have been lined up for sale in different parts of the city where people specially children could be seen purchasing them.

The number of Ravana effigies is increasing manifold every year, making the Pink city a hub of all sized colourful effigies of the antagonist character of the Ramayana.

"The sale is picking up today. Effigies of 5-15 feet height are high in demand as they are easy to carry and install at the site and are cheaper too, Ganesh Kothari, an effigy trader at 'Guarjar ki Thadi' said on Thursday.

Nearly two thousands effigies are lined up for sale at 5-6 locations along the Gopalpura bypass, which used to have only one location popularly called as 'Ravana Mandi' a few years ago.

Since the demand of effigies is increasing year by year, many families which otherwise earn livelihood by some other works rest of the year have engaged themselves in effigy making which is a two-months affair, he said while decorating one of the effigies with the help of his 13-year old son and wife.

Effigies of different sizes from 1 to 40-50 feet made by pieces of bamboos and coloured papers are available in the price range of Rs 100 to 15,000 which does not include firecrackers cost.

Another effigy maker Harjiram said, Most of the buyers are youngsters who collect money and purchase mid-sized Ravana effigies. Giant sized effigies are less in demand and are purchased only by them who organise some fair or such event in a ground. Most of the effigies are erected in colonies where there is limited space, he said.

Besides Ravana mandi and Gurjar ki Thadi, effigies are on sale in areas like Mansarover, Tonk Road, Sanganer among others.