Muslim artists from Meerut build Shimla's Jakhu Ravan effigies, as for 20 years

A Muslim family of effigy makers from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh is building the Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad effigies for the Dussehra celebration at the Jakhu temple in Shimla, a job the family says it has done for about 20 years. The artists described their work and their reception in Himachal Pradesh in interviews published on October 16 and 17, 2026. The effigies are due to be burned on Dussehra, Tuesday, October 20, 2026, when Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is expected to attend the event at Jakhu.

Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, marks the victory of Lord Ram over Ravan as told in the Ramayana, and the burning of Ravan's effigy, often flanked by those of Kumbhkaran and Meghnad, is the evening ritual most Indians associate with the day. Behind almost every Ramlila ground and temple celebration stands a small group of craftspeople who build these figures by hand from bamboo, paper, cloth and paste, and pack them with firecrackers so they burst into flame at the end. It is seasonal, skilled work, and it is often passed down within families.

The Jakhu story shows how that craft ties communities together. The family that builds Shimla's Ravan is Muslim, travels from Meerut, and has returned to the same temple for two decades. Sohil said they have never faced any trouble in Shimla and that people treat them with love and respect. He also said that attempts to divide people as Hindu or Muslim are wrong, and that brotherhood should be maintained. For the temple committee, which hosts the artists inside the temple premises, the arrangement is simply how the festival has been prepared for years.

The family's choice to use fewer firecrackers is also worth noting. Pollution from Dussehra and Diwali fireworks is a recurring concern in Indian cities each autumn, and effigy makers are among those who decide how much explosive goes into a celebration. A smaller charge means less smoke over the town while keeping the central act of the ritual, the fall of Ravan, in place.

Short-term: Shimla residents and visitors who gather at Jakhu on October 20 will see this year's effigies, built with a reduced firecracker load and new costumes. The team was working to finish in time, with some members away making effigies for other towns and final touches planned just before the festival.

Long-term: Families like this one keep a hand craft alive that has no formal school or training system. Whether younger members continue the work depends on steady seasonal orders from temples and Ramlila committees. Their example also offers a lived model of a shared festival culture at a time when religious lines are often drawn sharply in public debate.

Who is affected: the Meerut artist family and their team; the Jakhu temple committee and Shimla's Dussehra organisers; residents and tourists who attend the celebration; and other temple and Ramlila committees that depend on travelling effigy makers each autumn.

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