Dussehra

Dussehra 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 Dussehra 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.

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