Ramlila organisers in Chandigarh feel the pinch ahead of Dussehra festivities

While organisers are trying to bring down the costs of costumes for the characters of Lord Rama, Sita, Laxmana and others props, crackers and decorations, the Ravana, Kumbhkaran, Meghnath effigies will continue to scale new heights

With the annual Ramlila and Dussehra festivities fast-approaching, the organising committees are looking for ways to cut costs while looking to maintain the traditional grandeur of the celebrations.

The organising committees, which mostly depend on public donations, estimated the Ramlila and the Dussehra celebrations to cost around ₹6 lakh. But, with soaring prices of most essentials, power and rents, they feel the budget can only afford a low-key celebration. (HT File Photo)

While organisers are trying to bring down the costs of costumes for the characters of Lord Rama, Sita, Laxmana and others props, crackers and decorations, the Ravana, Kumbhkaran, Meghnath effigies will continue to scale new heights.

The committees, which mostly depend on public donations, estimated the Ramlila and the Dussehra celebrations to cost around ₹6 lakh. But, with soaring prices of most essentials, power and rents, they feel the budget can only afford a low-key celebration.

Sushil Kumar, general secretary of the Sector 46 Ramlila committee, said, “This year, we are planning to set up a 100-ft Ravana effigy, which will be the tallest in Chandigarh and 10 ft higher than last year. Besides, the height of Kumbhkaran will be 95 ft, while the effigy of Meghnath will stand tall at 85 ft. The stage will be designed as ‘Ashok Vatika’. But, all these may cost up to ₹10 lakh.”

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, all celebrations would be covered in around ₹5-6 lakh, but with inflation, the cost has gone up. We are dependent on donations from committee members, organisations and advertisements,” he said.

OCF Sanskritic Manch, Sector 29, director Jyoti Swarup Bhardwaj said, “The rent has gone up manifold. Even the rent for a chair has gone over ₹10 per day and setting up an event this grand has become unviable.”

“We are re-using the costumes from previous years and no money is being spent on new dresses or props. The situation became worse after the pandemic,” the director added.

A 100-ft Ravana will also be put up near Chandigarh’s Sector 49 mandi ground for the second time as per the local Ramlila director Pardeep Kumar, who added, “We have asked artistes from Agra to make the effigies, which will cost around ₹2.5 lakh, including crackers and stage set up.”

At 171 ft high, the tricity’s tallest Ravana effigy will be vanquished at the Parade Ground in Sector 5, Panchkula.

The eco-friendly cracker-based effigy is being made at a cost of ₹8 lakh by Tejinder Singh Rana, who had built the country’s tallest Ravana in 2018 (215 ft in Panchkula) and 2019 (221 ft in Chandigarh’s Dhanas area).

Famous for making Ravana’s effigy with new themes every year, Mohali Dussehra and Ramlila committee will have an effigy on the theme of “terrorism and extremism”.

Sharing details, organiser Madhu Bhushan said, “With a budget of ₹10 lakh, we will have an 80-ft effigy, looking at the current situation in the country.”