Muslim family from Rajasthan is preparing effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhkaran for Dussehra celebrations in Kanpur
He is assisted by his sons, Jahangir (35) and Farman (20), along with a team of about 20 artisans. This year, the team has prepared a 90-foot-tall Ravana effigy and 70-foot effigies of Meghnad and Kumbhkaran. It has also constructed a Lanka measuring 30 feet in height and 120 feet in length. The contract is worth around Rs 4 lakh. Salim said the amount covers two months’ wages for 20 artisans, their accommodation, food and travel to and from Rajasthan. It has secured a contract worth about Rs 1.9 lakh to prepare a 60-foot effigy for the Bannu Biradari Committee in Moti Jheel. A 55-foot effigy in Lal Bangla carries a contract worth around Rs 2 lakh, while a 50-foot effigy at Ganga Club has a budget of Rs 2 lakh.
Expenditure on bamboo, paper, wire, nails and other materials is additional, he said. Members of the Parade Ram Lila committee said the city’s Dussehra celebrations were incomplete without Salim’s family, which has been preparing the Ravana effigy every year. Salim said his family had maintained cordial relations with Ram Lila committees across the region, including in Farrukhabad, and continued to receive regular commissions despite occasional incidents of communal unrest. “The festival of Dussehra is a symbol of communal harmony and brotherhood in the country,” he said.
Sixty-four-year-old artist Mohd Salim, a resident of Hindaun City in Rajasthan, has been working on the effigies for the past one-and-a-half months for the Parade Ram Lila. Salim’s team is also making effigies for several other major Dussehra events in the city.