Yashika T Khanna

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…