Dussehra
The Hindu festival of Dussehra is celebrated in different ways all over India. It marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord Rama as well as the victory of the warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon, Mahishasura.
In the nine days before Dussehra, there are dramatic enactments of the life of Lord Rama and on the 10th day, huge models of Ravana and his son and brother, Meghnadh and Kumbhakarna, are set on fire. This symbolises people ‘burning’ the evil within themselves and following the path of truth and goodness.
During this time people decorate the entrance to their homes with hangings called torans, and flower-studded strings. Another tradition is based on the legend of Sri Ram’s ancestor, King Raghu, who distributed all his wealth among the poor. Having nothing left to give a poor boy, who came to his door asking for alms, Raghu attacked Kuber, the God of Wealth. Gold rained down on earth and some of it fell on the Apta tree, so people exchange leaves of the Apta tree on Dussehra.
In West Bengal the festivities last for 10 days. Beautiful idols of the goddess Durga are worshipped for nine days before being are carried out in procession and immersed in a river or pond.
In Himachal Pradesh, deities are brought in procession from little temples in the hills to a week-long fair in the town of Kullu.
In Mysore, the palace is illuminated for a month and elephants lead a colourful procession through the decorated streets of the city.
In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, families arrange dolls on artificially constructed steps decorated with lamps and flowers.
In Punjab, this holy time is taken as a period of fasting.
In Gujarat, the women dance around an earthen lamp and sing devotional songs.
Happy Dussehra!
