Dussehra - Vijaya Dashmi !!

Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu autumn of Ashvin or Ashwayuja, and is the grand culmination of the 10-day annual Navratri festival.It is the largest festival of Nepal . On the day of Dussehra, Ram killed Ravan who had abducted Ram's wife Sita to his kingdom of Lanka.Lord Ram, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Treta Yug, returned to his capital Ayodhya after the exile of fourteen years and hence forth we celebrate Diwali exactly after 20 days of Dussehra .The way the people celebrate the festival varies from region to region but all of them mark the "victory of the forces of Good over Evil" .

Celebrations
Kullu : A week long fair is organised in kullu as part of the Dussehra celebrations.They pay homage to the reigning deity, Raghunathji.

Mysore : In Mysore, Karnataka the Mysore palace is illuminated for a whole month during Dussehra and caparisoned elephants lead a colourful procession through the gaily-decorated streets of the city. It is the most colourful celebration of Dussehra in world.

South India : In South India, the first three days are dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity, the next three days to Saraswati, Goddess of learning and arts and the last three days to Shakti (Durga).

Punjab & Northern India : A 9 day period of Navratri is celebrated and on the 10th day is Vijyadashmi . Navaratri is taken as a period of fasting.In northern India, the festival wears the colourful garb of Ramlila wherein various incidents from Rama's life are enacted.

Gujarat : The evenings and nights are occasions for the fascinating Garba dance. The women dance around an earthen lamp while singing devotional songs accompanied by rhythmic clapping of hands.

Bengal : In bengal this is celebrated as Durga puja . All kinds of large pandals are made where they worship the goddess Durga ,and on the last day the visarjan of the goddess is done .





Dussehra is not just a time to rejoice and burn Ravan putlas and worship the goddess its rather a time to realize what is the actual essence behind all this . Its all about identifying the evil within us and in our surroundings and eleminating them !!