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Corona, not Ravana, to go up in flames this Dussehra
From 221-foot-tall Ravana effigy in 2019, Ambala’s Tejinder Chauhan plans to make just 10-foot effigy this year, but with the face of Covid-19
Last year on Dussehra, Tejinder Chauhan bettered his own world record by erecting a 221-foot tall Ravana effigy, 11 feet taller than his previous one and weighing 7,000kg, at Dhanas in Chandigarh.
Costing ₹35 lakh, it had drawn nearly one lakh people at the time of burning.
But this year, Chauhan has different plans. He will be replacing his towering Ravana effigy by a miniature version that will bear a ‘Covid-19’ face.
This for the first time since 1987, when Chauhan made his first 20-foot tall Ravana effigy, that his annual creation is going for a major size cut.
“Because of the pandemic, we can’t have a huge gathering, so, I have decided to make a small effigy. It will be less than 10-ft tall,” says the 54-year-old. “The significance of burning the Ravana effigy is to wipe out evil forces. A Covid-faced effigy comes with the hope to see the end of the deadly virus soon,” adds Chauhan, who hails from Ambala’s Barara village.
Dealing with pandemic
From when Chauhan’s 175-ft high Ravana made into the Limca Book of Records in 2009, he has increased the effigy height on seven occasions. He has 15 permanent artists/workers and hired 25 more on contract for six months.
“I have retained all the 15 employees even during the lockdown. For the other 25 workers, I have provided them ration or money as per their need,” says Chauhan, who pitches 90% percent of the funds for the effigy every year while the rest come as donations.
“I had no formal training in making effigies or sculptures, but over the years, I had learned this art on my own. This year, I got an assignment to make a 51-ft tall Shiva idol for a temple in Mullana, Ambala. The expense of salary of my permanent workers is coming through that project. They (referring to his workforce of 40) have helped me live my passion and taken risks while fixing crackers into the tall effigies by climbing over 200 feet. So, now it’s my duty to take care of their families,” he says.
Reflecting upon the past
Over the years, Chauhan has had to sell his ancestral land to fund his projects.
“I am spending the money for a cause, not any debauchery. So, my family has never objected to my selling the land when required,” says Chauhan. “My son works as a gym trainer in Yamunanagar. He is 27 years old, so taking care of family is his responsibility now,” he adds.
Recalling how he started making effigies, Chauhan said once in his younger days he took to hooliganism as a revolt against his father’s strictness. Later as redemption, he resumed the Ram Lila and Dussehra activities which were stopped for four-five years at his native village due to terrorism in the neighbouring Punjab.
“Since I took Dussehra out of Barara in 2018 due to a venue issue, Sri Ram Lila Club Barara, which we had formed in 1987, stopped staging the Ram Lila. Now, I organise Dussehra under the club’s banner only,” he says.
