Celebrations of Dussehra Festival
Dussehra or Vijayadashmi is one of the most distinguished festivals of Hindus, which symbolizes the victory of good over evil. In this article, let’s take a look into how and why we celebrate Dussehra. This festival is observed to have special meaning or different reasons for different people and is celebrated in different ways too.
In some parts of India, Dussehra is celebrated for the triumph of Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, over the 10-headed demon king Ravana, who abducted Rama’s wife. While few of them celebrate the victory of Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. Grace and ethnicity play a key role in celebrating this festival, no matter how the festival is being celebrated by different people.
So, here are the various ways in which this festival is being celebrated all over India.
Gujarat – Garba
Dussehra is celebrated as Navratri(festival of 9 days) in Gujarat. Garba, which is the folk dance of Gujarat plays the most important role in this festival. People vibe around to the tune of folk songs with multi-colored sticks. This is the main center of attraction to the festival.
After worshipping the Goddess, people enjoy playing Garba throughout the night. Men and women get ready in traditional wear to play Garba, the traditional attires are Lehenga Choli for women and Kedia for men.
Kullu and Himachal Pradesh – Grand Procession of Lord Raghunath
Dussehra in the Kullu town of Himachal is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm and holds a very special significance. The festival is celebrated for seven days and is carried out uniquely and especially.
At the fairground of Dhalpur Maidan, people from Kullu worship Lord Raghunath. Also, people from nearby villages bring the statues of different local gods and goddesses to this fairground in a holy procession. The entire place is loaded with the joy of festivities for one whole week.
Delhi – Ram Leela
In Delhi, Dussehra is celebrated in regard to the defeat of the demon king Ravana by Lord Rama. During the eve, the temples are decorated wonderfully and one of the greatest attractions to the festival all over the city is Ram Leela. For Ram Leela, special sets are constructed to resemble Ayodhya, Ashoka Vatika, and Lanka. Various actors enact the roles of Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and all other characters that exist in Ramayana.
Watching Ram Leela, which is the theatrical version of Ramayana, is one of the most beautiful experiences one can have in Delhi. Around Delhi, at various locations, the Idols of all three demons, including Ravana, Meghanad, and Kumbhakaran are set on fire.
Also, there are many places in Delhi, where Pandals of goddess Durga are created and most of them keep a fast for 9-days.
Punjab – 9-Day Fast and Worship of Shakti
Punjab, another state of India, celebrates Durga Puja joyfully and delightfully. Goddess Shakti is worshipped here. During Navratri, people from Punjab go through the fast of 7-days and also arrange Jagrata (Staying awake for the entire night by singing devotional songs).
They open their fast on the 8th day or on Ashtami and organize a Bhandara for 9 little girls known as Kanjika.
Another way of celebration, that includes setting up the effigies of the demons – Ravana, his son Meghnad and Kumbhkaran(Ravana’s brother). These effigies are set on fire and the crackers burst in the joy of their destruction and to resemble the victory of good over evil.
West Bengal – 6-day festival
When it comes to West Bengal, people never lose a chance to celebrate any festival related to Goddess Durga. That’s the reason, West Bengal is the first place that comes to anyone’s mind when it’s time for Dussehra.
In West Bengal, Dussehra is celebrated for 6-days. During these six days, huge pandals are set up and all the people around offer prayers to the Goddess. After the pooja, people are found performing a dance known as Dhunuchi. Later all of them enjoy some delicious food or Bhojs.
At the end of the festival, that is, after all the fun and enjoyment, the idols of Durga Maa to which they have performed all the poojas and rituals are taken to a river or an ocean and are immersed in the water. This is done to indicate that they bid farewell to the goddess for the year and will be waiting for her to return for the next year.
Telangana
In Telangana, Dussehra or Vijayadashmi is one of the most important Hindu festivals to be celebrated. This festival is celebrated across all the temples of Goddess Durga in the state. All the nine days of Navratri are celebrated in resemblance to nine forms of Goddess Durga.
During this time, In Telangana, the newlyweds are invited to the house by the bride’s family and are offered gifts. On the ninth day of Navratri, that is the last day, students keep their books and all others clean and keep their tools to perform Ayudha Pooja and are then taken back on the tenth day of Vijayadasami.
In Hyderabad, large idols of Goddess Durga, after performing the rituals and worshipping her with devotion for nine days, are immersed in water.
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