According to the residents they have been coming up with different concepts for Holika Dahan every year to convey socially relevant messages to the masses.
Every year, a day before Holi, Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawl in Parel becomes a centre of attraction. Residents of nearby areas start visiting the premises of building number 76,77, 78 and 79 of the slum to see the effigies the residents make to celebrate Holika Dahan, the first day of Holi festival.
This year, residents of building number 76 and 77 made an effigy symbolic of the recent attacks on policemen; residents of building number 78 and 79 made an effigy on the effect of demonetization in the country.
According to the residents they have been coming up with different concepts for Holika Dahan every year to convey socially relevant messages to the masses.
Speaking about this year's concept, Pratik Kale, 28, resident of building number 76 said, "The last few years have seen many attacks on policemen, so we wanted to address this issue. Few months ago, Vilas Shinde, who was a police constable and a resident of our chawl, also lost his life in such an attack. We discussed the topic with senior police officers before finalising the topic. The Holika Dahan will be done by one of Shinde's family members at midnight." A group of 10 people from building 76 and 77 have been preparing the effigy for the last two weeks.
The effigies are made of recyclable materials such as old newspapers, clothes, wood, etc.
59-year-old Chandrakant Avaghade, who conceptualised the effigy on demonetization said, "Demonetization had affected commoners, especially villagers. However, despite the demonetization drive, it was seen that the rich politicians continued to spend crores of rupees in their children's marriages. So, we have attached the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes around the effigy and named it 'Raees'. We believe, this installation will help spread a strong message against corruption and black money, which will have a more lasting impact than words can."
Last year, the residents made a 50-feet-tall effigy of the former 'King of good times' Vijay Mallya and a cell phone, for turning an entire generation into selfie addicts.
According to the residents, the tradition of burning effigies related to social evils on the occasion of Holika Dahan in BDD Chawl has been around since the Great Bombay Textile Strike of 1982. "Since most of the residents of this slum used to be mill workers, the closure of the mills had left them in a very miserable situation. It was then that the mill workers took recourse to burning effigies to convey their helplessness to the society. That was the first time a socially relevant issue was chosen for the purpose. We have kept the tradition alive since and shall continue to do so," said Avaghade.
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