The story of Dusshera and different ways its celebrated all over India.
In India, we love festivals. My reasoning for this is simple- we love to celebrate, eat good food, come together as a community and turn each of these celebrations into a beautiful memory for us and all around us.
While growing up, I looked forward to Dusshera holidays. It meant, ten days of holidays, ten days of family and friends meeting up, ten days of celebrations and festivities, new clothes, pandal hopping and of course ten days of really good food.
As I grew up, I realised, that there were so many aspects to this festival I didn’t know of.
Did you know that the word ‘Dusshera’ is made up of two words- ‘Dus’ and ‘Ahara’?
Dus means ten. Ahara means day.
So Dusshera means tenth day. It is celebrated on the tenth day of the ‘Hindu month of Ashvin’ or tenth day of the ‘Navaratri’.
Like every Hindu festival, Dusshera also has a story behind it. In fact, both ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata’ give us reasons why we celebrate this grand festival.
Story of Dusshera related to Lord Rama
According to Ramayana, Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, kidnapped Lord Rama’s wife Sita and held her captive in his caste. Lord Rama, along with his brother Lakshmana and Lord Hanuman and an army of monkeys, attacked Lanka. The battle lasted for ten days and on the tenth day, Ravana was killed. So, the first nine days are celebrated as Navaratri and the tenth day as Dusshera. On the tenth day, in many parts of India, effigies of Ravana is burnt and is called ‘Ravana Dahan’.
Story of Dusshera or Vijayadashami related to Goddess Durga.
Mahabharata says that Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura and brought peace to Earth. Mahishasura had acquired infinite power and was troubling the gods in heaven as well as humans on Earth. When Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma couldn’t defeat him, Goddess Durga was asked to fight him. This battle lasted for ten days (that’s why ten days of celebrations) and the demon was killed on the tenth day, that is called Vijayadashami. It means ‘victory on the tenth day’. On each of the first nine days, different powerful manifestations of Goddess Durga is worshiped.
As different as these two stories might be, the main essence of the festival is “Victory of good over evil” and that remains constant.
India in known for how diverse it is. While the main essence of Dusshera remains constant, the way different parts of India celebrates these ten days is really varied.
Let’s find out!
1.Durga Puja, Kolkata (West Bengal)
The biggest festival in West Bengal is Durga Puja or ‘Pujo’, as Bengalis calls it. During these ten days, the city is full of elaborate Pandals, lights, decorations, food stalls, music and dance performances and people in their traditional attire enjoy this festival to the maximum. Bengal is seen in all its cultural glory.
Food during this time is not to be missed. People from Bengal love their food and they should too.
The immersion of the Durga statue is done with equal jest. There is music and dance and fireworks and the festival comes to an end.
‘Bonedi Bari’ pujas that is held in the city’s palatial mansions are equally grand and full of life and history.
2. Durga Puja in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh
The way Durga Puja is celebrated in Bihar and UP is very similar. A ‘Kalash’, with coconut on top, is covered with red cloth and kept on a bed of soil. This is worshipped as Goddess Durga.
On the final day, little girls are worshipped, they are fed food and given gifts. Idols of Goddess Durga are found in Pandals everywhere and Durga Saptashati is chanted. Arti is done morning and evening and on the final day, the idol is immersed.
3. Golu from Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
Golu is a simple tier wise arrangement of wooden planks, with idols of deities called Golu Dolls. During Dusshera, the houses in Tamil Nadu display ‘Golu’ in beautiful ways. Some are very elaborate, while some are simple. The arrangement of idols in the Golu tell stories of Goddess Durga while fighting Demon Mahishasura or stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata. During the ten days, people visit each other’s houses and exchange gifts and sweets. On ninth day, Saraswati Puja is done, when books and musical instruments are placed in the puja. Tenth day is Vijayadashami, and is considered the most auspicious day. The idols and the planks are all removed after the tenth day and stored for next year celebrations.
4. Navaratri in Gujarat
Navaratri is a much awaited festival in Gujarat. Throughout the nine days of Navratras, there is Garbha and Dandiya every night, and people dress up in traditional clothes (coloured chaniya cholis, kediyus and kafni pajamas) to dance to the beat of Dhol or folk songs.
The aarti of goddess Durga is beautiful. Thousands of people gather in circles around intricate arrangement of earthen lamps to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.
5. Dusshera in Mysore
Picture Source: nativeplanet.com
Mysore is another city with unique Dusshera tale. Goddess Chamundeshwari (another name of Durga) killed the demon Mahishasura and it is from this that the city is believed to have gotten its name. The celebration includes military parades and lots of cultural performances.
The two highlights of this celebration:
- The special Durbar in the beautifully lit Mysore palace, which is attended by the royal family, officials and the people of Mysore.
- The huge procession called the Jumbo Savari.
Picture Source: deccanherald.com
Picture Source: hindu.com
6. Dusshera in the Capital
Dusshera celebrations is as full of colour in Delhi as the people of Delhi itself. There are various Ramlila plays happening across the city, some done by local and upcoming actors and some organised by well-established theatre and drama companies. Ramlila Maidan is a very popular place for this. Giant Effigies of Ravana is burnt every year (Ravana Dahan) and hundreds of people come to watch this.
Picture source: whatsuplife.in
Picture source: whatsuplife.in
There are a lot of ‘Melas’ that happen all around the city and the whole city looks colourful and beautifully decorated.
7. Kullu Dusshera (Himachal Pradesh)
Dusshera in Kullu is known for its grandeur. Idols of gods and goddesses from nearby villages are brought to Dhalpur Maidan (fairground) to participate in Lord Raghunath’s rath yatra, This goes on for seven days. On the last day, the procession is taken to River Beas, where a pile of leaves, twigs and grass is set ablaze, symbolising the burning of Lanka.
8. Bastar Dusshera (Chattisgarh)
This is a 75 daylong celebration and is said to have started in the 13th century by King Purushottam Dev in they city of Jagdalpur.
This festival is not about Lord Rama or Goddess Durga, but about the presiding deity of Bastar, Devi Danteshwari. The ritual is very unique and different from the rest of India.
Random Fact: Did you know Dusshera is religious holiday in Malaysia.
There are so many other beautiful Dusshera traditions and ways in which it’s celebrated. I wish I could write it all. But the ones I have written above will give you an idea about how varied our country is and how there is unity in diversity!
Hope this post was informative and you enjoyed reading it.
Very good ! Enjoyed reading it !