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Dusshera Innovation...

Posted by Yashika Totlani Khanna on 2:29 AM in ,


The pink city, Jaipur, is famous for many things- food, people, splendor, valour… but the one thing that is often overlooked is the innovative bent of mind that the people here are blessed with. One recent ‘innovation’ that caught my eye was the ‘finish-it-yourself mini dusshera ravanas’. Allow me to elucidate--- I returned from Delhi to Jaipur a day before the much celebrated dusshera festival and was greeted by hoards of mini ravans sitting pretty on every major (and every not-so-major) goods shelf of store-keepers. Ravans ranging from 3-6 feet, costing anywhere from Rs.300-Rs 1000, gleamed at me from every nook and corner of the city. All one was expected to do was to finish them by adding the ‘cracker’ zing… and bang! Your very own mini ravana was ready to be later burnt up in smoke- in celebration of India’s rich historic culture, tradition, values… that still live on in the hearts and minds of united Indians. Philosophy aside… I bought a 3-feet ravana myself (cost me somewhere around Rs.350), finished it with crackers and watched it go up in flames on dusshera night. Cost notwithstanding, the fun it afforded was priceless. Truly an idea which, it seems, could be emulated by retailers of other cities soon. The beginning of a new trend in festival-specific, money-making ideas?? Only time will tell…

9 Comments

Anonymous says:
8:33 AM

Very innovative but then not quite innovative. am not sure if the people at jaipur can actually patent this invention cos i have come across these burn-yourselves-mini ravanas in some other indian cities as well. But then again, i am not sure if these started making the ravanas before jaipur took the plunge :o
neways good that your pipeline does finally produce something interesting and so keep blogging :)

exclusively_me says:
10:10 PM

Hmm.. new template , huh..?

Yashika Totlani Khanna says:
9:34 PM

@arunabh: i could trace back the origins to my city, hence the joy! but some people might differ... anyway, you keep visiting.

@exclusively_me: yeah, the old one had started 'bugging' me ;)

By Toutatis!! says:
7:16 AM

Hmmm to some extent, this is reflective of the "have money, want it now" culture. And also the rise of the individualistic self-pandering as opposed to collective participation - like, in days gone by, I'm not sure if junta would have wanted mini-Ravanas to burn, even if given them free, if the alternative was a grand Ravana bonfire to be watched in glee and awe in the company of one's neighbors and community. Times change...and India's entrepreneurs always rise to the occasion...:-)

Yashika Totlani Khanna says:
4:35 PM

@by toutatis: Ashwin stop hurling mud at entrepreneurs, ya! In a country of a billion plus, they are just carving out their living. But I do agree that times have changed, and not exactly for good. But tell you what... Ravana bonfires still thrive on the thread of humanity that connects us all... keeps us all together. So the picture isnt that gloomy afterall! And about the 'have money, want it now' culture... immortal words (for the current era, that is!)... amen. Keep visiting!

By Toutatis!! says:
8:38 AM

Me no throw mud, me throw roses...My comment was directed at the changing character of society - and not necessarily in a bad sense either... I mean, who is to say the community thing is better? And of course, entrepreneurs are what they are only because they see a business opportunity and take advantage of it - and thats a good thing. :-)

Rakshit says:
2:43 PM

hmmmm... interesting... i dunno what to say except the fact that tradition also involves actually going in a group to see the ravan burn... i guess everything is getting nuclear these days...interesting read though... keep posting

Yashika Totlani Khanna says:
12:20 AM

@By toutatis: So eventually we both agree on the same thing! Cheers :)

@Rakshit: Just read your scrap buddy... on my way to reading your blog. Thanks for dropping by and keep visiting!

@Bodhisattva: So you finally take out time from your 8am-11pm job to comment on my post, huh?? Btw, the phone convo(however expensive!) rendered me feeling lighter and brighter! And this one especially for your socratic colleagues: cheers buddies! A classic case of different people exploring different viewpoints, analysing the same thing... tearing it to shreads to reach their own, different interpretations.

Dr. Sohrab Arora says:
2:53 PM

from jaipur foot to a simple rotahaler for asthma patients... from elephant polo to a car which supposedly runs on water :P.... and now these 'personal' ravans :D
jaipur will always be synonymous with innovation! though the patent wud always be in someone else's name ;)

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