Once a village troublemaker, now famous for towering effigies

What began as a son’s desperate attempt in 1986 to make his strict father proud with a 20-foot Ravana effigy in Barara has turned into a lifelong obsession. Today, Tejinder Chauhan, 58, is known across states for crafting record-breaking Ravana effigies — the tallest being 215 feet in Rajasthan.

His story is no less than a Bollywood script — the son of a headmaster who quit studies after Class X, became a kabaddi player, then a village ruffian, only to turn his life around after a confrontation with his father.

“My father, Ami Singh Chauhan, was a headmaster and very strict about studies. I wanted to play and roam with friends, but he was not happy. The continuous beating made me stubborn. I began hating studies and even my father. After Class X, I told him I would not study further. He was very disappointed,” recalled Chauhan.

The rebellion soon took a darker turn. “I was a good kabaddi player, never into drugs, but I roamed aimlessly and got into fights within the village and even in other districts. Complaints poured in. Then, one day, I overheard my father saying I had brought a bad name to the family. That broke me. I decided to change,” he said.

Chauhan sought guidance from his father, who asked him to do something meaningful for society and culture. With Ramlila discontinued in the village, he was handed the task of reviving it. But villagers, wary of his past, refused support.

“Still, with help from friends, we somehow managed to organise Ramlila. Arranging the effigy was the bigger challenge. With help from an Agriculture Department employee, I prepared my first 20-foot Ravana in 1986. My father and villagers were happy — that was the turning point,” he said.

By 1987, the Shri Ram Lila Club was formed, and Chauhan began scaling up his effigies year after year. The tallest at Barara reached 210 feet in 2017, before space constraints forced him to shift to other states.

But passion has come at a steep personal cost. “I have sold over 12 acres of prime land and even my vehicles to fund these effigies. They cost lakhs, and support is never enough. I feel bad for my son because I should have passed on the land I inherited from my father. But my son is supportive and says nothing because this passion has given us name and fame. I feel proud when people come to meet me and click pictures,” Chauhan said.

Even at 58, his dreams keep growing taller. “I want to build a 251-foot Ravana in Barara. But I also want to create 200-foot statues of Lord Rama and Lord Shiva. Effigies burn in a day, but statues will remain for decades,” he said.