Dusshera celebrates Rama's victory over Ravana. The festival is spread out over ten days. The story of Ram's life is enacted in a folk art form called Ramlila. Every nook and corner has its own Ramlila, so that, apart from professionals, millions of amateur actors take to the stage during Dusshera and act out the Ramayana in ten days, each day's instalment lasting a few hours.

The highlight of the tenth day is the burning of the effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Indrajit. The bigger the effigy, the grander the performance. It is customary to fill the effigies with firecrackers so that the message that good triumphs over evil is heard loud and clear. Dussehra coincides with Durga Puja, which is a ten-day worship of Goddess Durga. In different parts of the country, different goddesses are worshipped during this period.

Dusshera or Navarathri is one of the most popular festivals of India. This 10-day long festival is celebrated in September-October. During these 10-days, Goddess Durga is worshipped for Navarathri (nine nights), and on the 10th day - Vijayadasami Goddess Saraswati is worshipped.

Dusshera is the anniversary of the victory of Durga over the buffalo-headed demon, Mahishasura, giving the goddess her name Mahishasura-mardini (the slayer of Mahishasura). Dusshera also commemorates the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana of Lanka. However, either way the theme of the festival is the victory of good over evil.

Dusshera was celebrated mainly as a royal festival. As the war-goddess, Durga was worshipped by Kshatriya rulers in ancient and medieval India. Many of these kings selected Dusshera to invoke the blessings of Durga and start military operations. Dusshera celebrations differ throughout the country.

Dusshera Celebrations

The main feature of the ten-day long Dusshera celebrations is Rama-Lila, based on the epic Ramayana. The various episodes of Ramayana are enacted, as in a folk theatre. On Vijayadasami, the effigy of Ravana is burnt with crackers, in the presence of thousands of cheering spectators.

In West Bengal and the neighboring states of Assam and Orissa, Goddess Durga is worshipped as a symbol of Shakti, commemorating her victory over the demon Mahishasura. Kolkata comes alive at Durga Puja when images of the Goddess are carried through the streets to be immersed in the river, after nine days of celebration. Five days later on the full-moon night, people worship Lakshmi on the same spot where Durga was installed. In Punjab, Navarathri is a period of fasting. In Gujarat, every evening during the nine nights, women join the Garba dance around an earthen lamp, singing and clapping in rhythmic movements. They sing praises of the Goddess.

In Tamil Nadu, the first three days of the Navarathri festival are dedicated to Lakshmi, the next three to Durga, and the last three days to Saraswati. Dusshera is celebrated here as a doll festival. Houses display dolls of Gods and Goddess - Golu. The dolls on display represent Gods and Goddesses giving a helping hand to Goddess Durga to fight the demon.

In Himachal Pradesh, images of Gods from all over the valley are brought together in decorated palanquins to celebrate Dusshera, and a fair is held in the region. In Mysore and Andhra Pradesh, Dusshera is celebrated for the victory of Rama over Ravana. Friends and relatives greet each other and exchange sweets and pleasantries.

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