Dussehra (Vijayadashami )

Dussehra is one of the significant festivals of the Hindu religion. It carries a message of ‘Victory of good over evil’. The reason for celebrating Dussehra is different in different parts of India. Dussehra is also called Vijayadashami, which is a combination of two words ‘Vijaya means victory’ and ‘Dashami means tenth’. Hence, Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day with great enthusiasm.

We all know that India is the land of multicultural and multilingual people; thus the festivals here are celebrated in various ways in different parts of the country. In the north-eastern and eastern regions of India, Dussehra is celebrated as Dussehra honouring goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasur.

Mostly in western and northern India, Dussehra is celebrated in admiration of Lord Rama. Various forms of drama, dance, music and plays based on the epic Ramayana are performed in the open fields where a temporary stage is built and decorated with flowers, lights, clothes and other materials. Stage artists enact Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, Hanumana, Ravana and other notable characters of Ramayana. The performance lasts for almost 10 days and on the day of Dussehra when Rama defeats Ravana, large effigies or dummies of Ravana, Kumbhakarana and Meghnath are burnt in the same field where the performance is organised.

One of the major highlights of this occasion is the Dussehra Mela; various stalls and mini shops are set up for joy-rides, shopping, eating and purchasing, to name a few. Streets get bustled with people who gather in the huge ground to not only enjoy the fair, but also to see the effigies of Ravana and his counterparts being burnt.

Dussehra (Vijayadashami) ki hardik shubhkamnayen 🙏