A date with Ravana in Titarpur and Bisrakh

Ravana effigies in Titarpur don't fit my mental image of a man who forced Shiva to acknowledge his wisdom: Villager

It’s that time of the year again. I take the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro to Titarpur where a familiar sight awaits. Papier-mâché heads and stout bamboo frames shelter by the roadside. Oblivious to the cars whizzing by and a rank urinal next door, men work on building effigies of Ravana ahead of the festival of Dussehra at the end of September. They paste layer upon layer of paper on frames that will eventually form Ravana’s hollow torso. The torsos have, I see, a large vent at the back for the crackers to be piled in just before the