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Come September and an intangible bubbling excitement begins to charge the Indian air; it’s festival time again. The clear autumn sky smiles wide and large to summon people into the characteristic mad frenzy of celebration. Dusshera/Vijay Dashami Gujarat is the first big festival in the festival calendar of North India, and one of the most important fairs and festivals in Gujarat.
This festival falls on the 10th day of the waning moon during the Hindu month of Ashvin (around September-October). A fascinating collection of mythological legends and folklore are embroidered around Dussehra. It is believed that on this day, Rama, the hero of the great Hindu epic, Ramayana, killed the unrighteous demon Ravana, the 10-headed king of Lanka who had abducted Rama’s wife, Sita.
This victory is believed to have come after Lord Rama’s brother Lakshmana, along with an army of monkeys, fought a colossal battle that lasted 10 days. Rama, who was a devout worshipper of Durga (the Goddess of War, strength and destroyer of evil), prayed to her for the first nine days of battle, and killed the evil Ravana on the 10th day. He shot Ravana with a bow that pierced his navel. Out flowed the nectar of immortality that was stored in a pot in his navel, thus destroying his invincibility.
Ravana’s own brother Vibhishana (being the sensible one, he had switched sides) had divulged this secret to Rama. Dussehra is thus the festival that commemorates this triumph of Good over Evil. To this day Rama Lila (the enactment of the Ramayana, or literally the saga of Rama) is staged in towns and villages across the length and breadth of the country. The Ram Lila Ground at New Delhi is most famous for this and has been staging Ram Lila for the past 15 years or so.
According to another legend Dussehra is linked to Goddess Durga’s slaying of the buffalo-demon, Mahishasura. In Bengal the festival is known as Durga Puja and is the single most important festival for the Bengalis. The day of Dusshera is the same as Vijay Dashami- the day of emersion of the idol of Goddess Durga after four days of worship.
Dusshera/Vijay Dashami Celebration In Gujarat is characterized by Ram Lila and the burning of the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnath. Ram Lila is generally held in the evenings, and year after year, people flock in huge numbers to watch the saga unfold. In ancient times when it was considered demeaning for women to go up on stage, men performed the female roles and interestingly, this still happens in most parts of India.
During Dusshera/Vijay Dashami In Gujarat India, after the Ram Lila and the burning of the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnath the idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are taken around in a huge chariot. Crowds of people shouting Jai Shri Ram (Victory to Rama) join the procession. (The Ram Lila processions of Mysore in Karnataka, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat are especially spectacular).
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