DUSSERA : Day Of Victory

Vijayadashami or Dussera, the 10th day of the bright half of Ashmn, is celebrated as the day of victory to rejoice about Durga's triumph over the demon Mahishasura.

In Mysore, at the hiiltop Chamundi tempie, Dussera is a picturesque festival. The goddess is the maharaja's family deity and a procession of elephants, courtiers and court symbols attracts tourists by the thousands as it wends its circuituous way to the temple, decorated splendidly for the festival. With the decline of the royal family of Mysore however, this festival has lost some of its traditional lustre.

In Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, families arrange dolls (Bommai Kolu) and artefacts with decorative displays of lamps and flowers. Women traditionally exchange gifts of coconuts, clothes and sweets.

In the northern states, Dussera also celebrates the homecoming of Rama the hero of the epic Ramayana, after his victory over Ravana, the king of Lanka. In vast open spaces, Ramleela, the folk play with music and spontaneous dialogues, retelling the story of the life of Rama, are enacted till the wee hours Songs are sung in praise of Rama and people in their thousands witness this traditional theatre with its exaggerated costumes, jewellery, makeup and drama. (Larger-than-life figures of Ravana and other demons are burnt on cold, dark nights with fireworks lighting up the sky.

Dussemis also reminiscent of the end of the exile and banishment of the Pandava princes in the Mahabharata and their return with their weapons to claim their kingdom In memory of this epic story, people in Maharashtra worship the implements of their professions and distribute the leaves of the Shami tree as 'gold' and express goodwill.

Dussera celebrates the joyous homecoming of Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana, after his war with Ravana the demon king of Lanka. Huge effigies of the ten-headed demon, filled with different firecrackers, are set alight to celebrate the victory of good over evil. This celebration is called Ramleela.

Tulzapur, a temple town in Maharashtra, comes to life on the autumn full moon day. Bhavani, the goddess who gave the Maratha king Shivaji, his famous sword, is taken out in Chhabina, a moonlight procession of great sulendour.

Vijayadashami is the day of Saraswati or the deity of knowledge and learning. Children begin their school education, their art lessons or their career planning on this day and seek their elders' blessings.For Hindus, Dussera is one of the four most auspicious days of the year.