The rise of Ravana

One of the most fascinating things about Dussehra is the "Rabana Podi" - the burning of a huge effigy of Ravana, which is filled with crackers inside. As I grew up, and the previous generation in our family grew older, we stopped visiting this event because of the inevitable traffic jams that one could get caught in. Not to be disappointed, my brother and I, we used to make a small cut out of Ravana, paste crackers on to it and then burn it (yes, kids love destruction). What we started, was taken up by a lot of enthusiasm by our chhotumotu cousins. Under their patronage, Rabana Podi became a popular event and our family comes together to witness this on the terrace of my grandfather's house.

Our Ravana was a few inches tall, this year's was 7 feet tall. Our Ravana stood with the support of two bricks, their latest creation stood on a wooden platform supported by nails. It had clothes, ten heads with crowns and royal robes. It was filled with hay inside which was infested with all kinds of crackers (I just realized I dont know the names of the crackers in English). It was a wonder to behold and to imagine all the physics that had gone into building it - the physics that is known to two 15 year olds, one 12 year old and one 10 year old. They had a toolbox with a mechanical drill, hammer, nails, saw and what not. The effigy took them a night out to make with ideas pouring in from all members. The youngest of them all had his own contribution to make - he focussed on making Ravana anatomically correct (dont ask me how :P)

The day of the event, we gathered on the terrace at a safe distance from the lord of Lanka. My uncle did the honours, he was Lord Ram for the day. And it began, the two legs caught fire first, which quickly spread to the torso and the hands. Bang! Whoosh! Sizzle! Crack! And claps and shouts and screams and laughs. We watched as their creation blew up in parts. I looked at them - and they were beaming with pride at having performed better than last year.

A few more minutes and a dismembered Ravana stood before us - two heads and one hand was what was left. And my little brothers were already discussing how to ensure that all body parts blew up next year.