Dussehra festival, also known as Vijayadashmi, which is
also one of the major festivals celebrated in India by the Hindus.
This festival is hugely celebrated in the state of West Bengal compared to other parts in the country. Though it is a Hindu festival, like most of the festivals in the country, this festival is also celebrated with great vigour by the people of the other religions too. The festival is celebrated on the tenth day of Ashvin month according to the Hindu calendar. As to the Georgian calendar, it falls between the months of September to October.
This festival is hugely celebrated in the state of West Bengal compared to other parts in the country. Though it is a Hindu festival, like most of the festivals in the country, this festival is also celebrated with great vigour by the people of the other religions too. The festival is celebrated on the tenth day of Ashvin month according to the Hindu calendar. As to the Georgian calendar, it falls between the months of September to October.
The Dusshera festival concludes after nine days of
rigorous fasting period of Navratri and coincides with immersion of the idol of
Goddess Durga. The festival is celebrated as to mark the victory of good over
evil. Legends believe that on this day, Lord Rama had killed the demonic king
Ravana. Legends also believe that during the same day, Goddess Durga had killed
Mahishasur. Lord Rama killed Ravana on this day as a revenge for kidnapping his
wife, Sita. Goddess Durga also killed demon Mahishasura after a long rule of
cruelty and oppression. The idols of Ravan, Meghnath and Kumbhakarnan are
stuffed with fire crackers and burned down, on this day. The festival is
celebrated with lots of vigour and happiness and it also serves as the
opportunity for the family members to meet with each other. During this
festival, smaller members of the family visit the elder ones to receive
blessings form them for a prosperous and happy life.
It is also believed that during this time, initiation of
new ventures brings immense success. Hence, all the activities like laying-in
of the foundation of a new building, commencement of new commercial
establishments or even getting a child into the world of learning. Like most of
the festivals, this festive season also witnesses people buying new clothes and
shoes along with other jewellery items.
However, this time around, heavy rainfall in the states
of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha have dampened the spirit of the festival.
People of Kolkata and surrounding areas in West Bengal could only enjoy the
initial few days of puja as rest of the days of the festival was spoiled due to
heavy thunder showers. Even after Municipal Corporation’s advance preparation
and effective measures, quite lesser number of pandal-hoppers was seen as most
of the people decided to stay inside their homes due to the continuous down
pour. Other areas of West Bengal which
came under the brunt of the heavy rainfall are Bankura, Midnapore, Bardhaman
and Purulia. In case of Odisha, almost entire region of the state came under
the scanner of heavy down pour. Places like Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Bokaro and
Bhilai, in the state of Jharkhand, had to suffer the same fate like that of
West Bengal and Odisha. Some other parts of India did have their festive mood
spoiled due to the heavy rainfall and thunder storm. Bad weather conditions
hampered the entire festive season of Dussehra which saw very little surge of
domestic as well as international tourists in most of the festive parts in
India.