Gurugram, Oct. 20 -- Inside the makeshift tents lining a road in Gurugram's Sector 15, brightly coloured faces lie scattered on the ground, their painted eyes staring upwards. Nearby, families assemble bamboo frames, transforming paper and cardboard into effigies of Ravana. Their creations will go up in flames on Dussehra, marking the victory of good over evil. For the families who have spent weeks making them, the festival represents a month's livelihood, a craft passed down through generations and an opportunity to earn extra money. For Vinod Kumar, making effigies is a tradition stretching back four generations. The rest of the year, he sells bamboo products. But a month before Dussehra, he sets up shop in Sector 15 with his wife and three grown-up children. "It takes a family to make these," Vinod said. Together, they produce 35 to 40 effigies of different sizes, earning close to Rs.60,000 over the month. But not everyone has inherited the craft. Govind, who comes from Agra, ordinarily sells shoes. This year, he has joined his relatives in making effigies. "We have to carefully think about the design, buy different colour papers for the crown, the face, and moustache," he said. Working alongside him is Sonu, a cab driver who has just completed his first Ravana effigy. "I got bored with cab driving, wanted to do something different," he said. For Khushboo, the work is more solitary. Her four children are too young to help, apart from passing her paintbrushes. She makes 10 to 15 effigies, earning close to Rs.25,000. She buys patterned paper and shimmering foil from Delhi, while sourcing bamboo, cardboard and newspapers locally. Each family has one person entrusted with painting the eyes and teeth, which give Ravana his distinctive expression. Others avoid these finishing touches for fear of spoiling the paper faces. For some families, Dussehra is followed by another seasonal opportunity: selling Diwali decorations. There is also the constant worry of protecting the completed effigies until they are collected. "We have to guard all the Ravanas. Somebody can set fire to them ruining our entire month's hard work," Vinod said....