Author: Alka Jain

Mysore’s Vaibhav Society celebrated Dusshera with grandeur every year. The society park usually echoed with the cheers of children. However, this year, just before Dusshera, there was an unusual silence. The reason for the silence was a quarrel between Garvit and Rohan. They were the best of friends and made Ravan’s effigy together every year, but this time they were not even on speaking terms with each other.

Garvit was quiet and hardworking. He took pride in his work. Every year, he prepared the effigy and included the other children. Rohan was just the opposite. He always looked for shortcuts and said, “Do smart work, not hardwork.”

This year, as usual, Garvit had started making the effigy in the park. He sat with chart papers, bamboo and glue, with the younger children forming a circle around him.

“Garvit bhaiya, will Ravan’s clothes be red this time or blue?” one asked.

“Let me make his moustache this time!” another said.

Garvit laughed and divided the work among them. Just then, Rohan arrived and sighed.

“Garvit, why are you doing all this? Just get a ready-made effigy from the market and you’ll be all done,” Rohan said.

“The real joy of celebrating a festival is when we put in the effort ourselves,” Garvit replied calmly.

The next day, Rohan brought a large, ready-made effigy from the market and showed it to everyone.

“Look! The work is done in an hour. Use your brains. What’s the point of all that effort?” he said.

Garvit felt very hurt. He thought Rohan was mocking his hard work and dedication. He stopped talking to him. Even the children were split into two groups. Some were with Garvit, while the others went with Rohan. The park’s aura lost its spark.

One evening, Garvit was sitting beside his half-made effigy. The heads he had made lay unfinished. Just then, some little children came running.

“Garvit bhaiya, why aren’t you making this effigy?” one asked.

“Why do we burn Ravan?” another questioned.

“Did he really have ten heads?” a third one asked innocently.

“Ravan’s ten heads are the ten forms of evil—pride, lies, anger, laziness, jealousy, dishonesty, deceit, foolishness, stubbornness and quarrel. On Dusshera, we burn Ravan to teach ourselves that these evils must be destroyed,” Garvit replied, smiling.

Rohan, who was standing nearby, heard all this. His head bowed in shame. For the first time, he realised he had dismissed Garvit’s spirit. That night, he could not rest. The next morning, he went to Garvit’s house. Garvit was sitting in the veranda, lost in thought.

“Garvit, I made a mistake. I did not value your effort. Will you forgive me?” Rohan said softly. Garvit turned his face away but then smiled.

“You will be forgiven, but we will make Ravan together this time. An effigy so grand that no one has ever seen before,” said Garvit.

They called all the children of the society and shared the new plan. This time, Ravan’s ten heads would be made of colourful balloons. On each balloon, the name of one vice would be written. Garvit would make the frame, and Rohan would arrange balloons, colourful paints and sweets. The children jumped with joy.

“I will make the topmost head!” someone said.

“I will paint the effigy’s hands!” another added. Meanwhile, one mischievous child would sneak a hand into the sweets box and get scolded immediately.

During the preparations, there was a lot of fun and playful banter.

“Don’t pass me the glue, it sticks too much!” Sam said.

Immediately, Pinki laughed from behind and said, “Oh, what will you do with glue? You yourself will get stuck somewhere!” Everyone burst out laughing.

“I will make Ravan the scariest!” Rohan said while colouring.

“Not scary, splendid. This is the result of our hard work, not a ghost,” Garvit quickly replied.

On the evening of Dusshera, the whole ground sparkled with lights. The society’s elders were also happy to see the children’s unique ideas.

“Today, we will not burn Ravan. We will destroy his vices by bursting each balloon, and then we will share sweets with everyone,” Garvit announced, taking the microphone.

The first balloon was of arrogance. Rohan burst it and said, “Arrogance takes us away from our loved ones. We should always remain humble.”

The second balloon was of lies. Garvit burst it and said, “Lies break trust. Truth is the greatest strength.”

After that, all the children came one after another. Someone burst the anger balloon, someone the jealousy one, and someone the dishonesty one. Each time a balloon burst, the ground echoed with claps and laughter.

When the last balloon burst, all the children danced with joy. Then sweets were distributed––laddus, jalebis and special Mysore Pak.

The elders of the society hugged both friends and said, “You children have taught everyone that evil should not be burned but changed with goodness. The real victory is when no one loses.”

That year’s Dusshera was not just a festival of lights and fireworks but became a unique lesson of friendship, wisdom and letting go of arrogance.