Faridabad’s NIT Dussehra Ground is a unique example of Hindu-Muslim communal harmony, where the effigies of Ravan, Meghnath and Kumbhkaran are made by hundreds of Muslim artisans in the Hanuman temple complex.

The Dussehra fair organised every year at the ground attracts people not only from Faridabad, but also from Ballabgarh, Gurugram and Noida to watch Ravana dahan.

Effigies of the Ravana family have been made in Shri Siddhpeeth Hanuman Temple NIT campus for years. The temple’s head Rajesh Bhatia said, “The magnificent effigies made by Muslim artisans are unmatched, no one else can make such effigies.”

Bhatia said that the effigies are made away from the place where the idol is installed or where the puja takes place in the temple premises, though that is also the area of ??the temple complex.

He said, “All Muslim artisans respect our religious sentiments. This is the reason why the work of making effigies in the Hanuman temple by Muslim artisans has been going on from generation to generation for the last 74 years.”

On being asked whether Hindus ever raised any objection to this, Bhatia said Dussehra is a symbol of mutual brotherhood and no such objection was ever raised.

The artisans who make more than 50-feet-tall effigies of the Ravan family belong to families who have expertise in it.

Shakeel Ravanawala, who is engaged in making effigies of Ravan, said that his grandfather Rahman Ali came to Faridabad in 1950, and started making Ravan’s effigies. Shakeel, who started making Ravan’s effigies at the age of eight along with his father Rahmat Ali, said that his son Annan Abdul has also joined the same profession now in the fourth generation.

Bhatia said that this year Ravan dahan will not take place in the NIT ground because the administration has not given the permission for it, and hence it will take place in the Hanuman temple premises only.

Bhatia said, “These artisans are so skilled that it seems as if they infuse life into the effigies.” This is the reason why there is a huge demand for them in various Dussehra committees of the city.

Making effigies is not their only skill, they also make the effigies stand straight before Dussehra, which is also not an easy task. Sometimes depending on the direction of the wind, the help of a crane is also required for the same.

This time a 100-feet high Ravan has been built in Faridabad’s Sector-28. Different Dussehra committees search for and bring these artisans from far and wide so that their Ravan is the tallest and most beautiful.

Shakeel Ravanwala said that the firecrackers used in Ravan’s effigies are tied in a row in such a way that when they are set on fire, they start burning first from the top (head) because the longer the firecrackers burn, the more the audience enjoys.