Dussehra (Maha Navami) in India

Quick Facts
Dussehra, also known as Vijaya Dashami, is an Indian festival that celebrates good forces over evil forces. It spans for 10 days and is celebrated in varied traditions across India.

Local names
Name / Language Hindi

Dussehra (Maha Navami) English

Alternative name
Dasara (Maha Navami)

Dussehra (Maha Navami) 2013

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Dussehra (Maha Navami) 2014

Friday, October 3, 2014 Note: During a gazetted holiday, government offices and most businesses are closed so people have a day off work. List of dates for other years Dussehra (Vijaya Dashami, Dasara, or Dashain) is a Hindu festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is a gazetted holiday in India, which is marked on the 10th day of the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the month of Ashvin (Ashwayuja), according to the Hindu calendar. Pictured above is the Ramayana epic carved on a wooden door inside a temple. iStockphoto.com/Luciano Mortula

What do people do?

Many people of the Hindu faith observe Dussehra through special prayer meetings and food offerings to the gods at home or in temples throughout India. They also hold outdoor fairs (melas) and large parades with effigies of Ravana (a mythical king of ancient Sri Lanka). The effigies are burnt on bonfires in the evening. Dussehra is the culmination of the Navaratri festival. There are many local celebrations in some areas in India that can last for up to 10 days. Local events include:

Performances of the Ramlila (a short version of the epic Ramayana) in Northern India. A large festival and procession including the goddess Chamundeshwari on a throne mounted on elephants in the town of Mysore in the state of Karnataka. The blessing of household and work-related tools, such as books, computers, cooking pans and vehicles in the state of Karnataka. The preparation of special foods, including luchi (deep fried flat bread) and alur dom (deep fried spiced potato snacks), in Bengal.

Many Hindus also believe that it is lucky to start a new venture, project or journey on Dussehra. They may also exchange gifts of leaves from the Shami tree (Prosopis spicigera) as a symbol of the story of the Pandavas brothers' exile in the Mahabharata stories.

Public life
Government offices, post offices and banks are closed in India on Dussehra. Stores and other businesses and organizations may be closed or have reduced opening hours. Those wishing to use public transport on the day may need to contact the local transport authorities to check on timetables.

Background
Dussehra celebrates the Hindu god Rama's victory over the demon king Ravana and the triumph of good over evil. The epic Ramayana tells the mythical story of the Lord Rama who wins the lovely Sita for his wife, only to have her carried off by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Ravana plays an important role in the Ramayana. Ravana had a sister known as Shoorpanakha. She fell in love with the brothers Rama and Lakshamana and wanted to marry one of them. Lakshamana refused to marry her and Rama could not as he was already married to Sita. Shoorpanakha threatened to kill Sita, so that she could marry Rama. This angered Lakshamana who cut off Shoorpanakha's nose and ears. Ravana then kidnapped Sita to avenge his sister's injuries. Rama and Lakshamana later fought a battle to rescue Sita. The monkey god Hanuman and a huge army of monkeys helped them. The Mahabharata is another series of Hindu myths that play a role in the Dussehra festival. The Pandavas were five brothers who fought evil forces with a set of distinctive weapons. They abandoned their weapons and went into exile for one year. They hid their weapons in a Shami tree and found them at the same place when they returned from exile. They then worshipped the tree before going to a battle, which they won. This epic is also commemorated during Dussehra. Soon after the strains of the violin and beats of the drum faded into darkness, and the last of the customers left after satiating themselves at the food mela, there was a sudden flurry of activity as nearly 200 pourakarmikas got ready to begin their day. Working behind the scenes, pourakarmikas hired on contract by the Mysore City Corporation during Dasara (from October 4 to 15) had the job of ensuring that venues such as Amba Vilas Palace and the Maharaja College Ground were clean and ready for the next days programme.

The MCC had drafted an additional 280 personnel during Dasara to handle the extra waste generated in the city. Mysore, on an average, generates around 400 tonnes of garbage daily and this shoots up during Dasara. The waste was transported to the solid waste management treatment plant. This was in addition to the daily door-to-door collection of waste from other parts of the city, said P.G. Ramesh, Commissioner, MCC. While 100 additional personnel were deployed for day duty, 180 personnel were deployed to clean the various venues at night, said Mr. Ramesh. This was in addition to the routine cleaning carried out by pourakarmikas working in different wards. The area of jurisdiction was marked out for the team and they spread out across important venues where crowd participation was more. This included the surroundings of the palace, J.K. Ground, Scouts and Guides Ground, Maharaja College Grounds, exhibition ground and places around Devaraja Market, Sayyaji Rao Road, Town Hall and Devaraja Urs Road. In addition, 28 members of the Swachata Committee coordinated with the pourakarmikas hired on contract and looked after their requirements. The MCC also deployed 15 health inspectors and environmental engineers to supervise the cleaning operation. Though clean-up was taken up successfully, the fact is that the MCC is facing staff shortage. For a city with 65 wards, there are only 15 health inspectors and each of them supervise around four wards. The 15 inspectors include eight retired employees whose services were drafted exclusively for Dasara. Nagaraj, a retired health inspector from the MCC, told The Hindu that the sanctioned number of health inspectors in the MCC was actually 30. Mr. Ramesh said the matter would be taken up with the government to recruit additional staff. This year, high energy-consuming incandescent light bulbs have been completely phased out of the Dasara illumination designs in Mysore. Last year, over 55,000 incandescent bulbs illuminated roads, circles and buildings here, although LED lights also saw some use. However, this time only LED lights were pressed into service, a move which has the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation cheering; thanks to this, at least 60 per cent of its energy has been saved. The 15-day illuminations for Dasara last year went on to consume 1.25 lakh units of electricity. According to CESC officials, this year that number should come down to between 35,000 and 40,000 units. A distance of about 30 km was covered in LED lights; including K R Circle, Hardinge Circle, Basaveshwara Circle, Ramaswamy Circle and Metropole Circle. CESC Superintending Engineer H.G. Satyanarayana told The Hindu that 2.3 lakh meters of LED string lights were used to illuminate the roads. Likewise, 16,000 m of LED tape lights, 1,500 m of LED rope light and 300 m of LED zoomer lights had been used to brighten up the city this Dasara.

Green Pandal This years Green Pandal on Sayyaji Rao Road here used about 2,000 m of green LED string lights, as opposed to the 4,500 incandescent bulbs used last year. This might not have been possible without CESCs getting corporate sponsorship this year; as many as 34 corporates were roped in to sponsor lighting in a distance of 20 km and major circles. According to CESC, these sponsors included Kayati Steels, TVS, JK Tires, Vasu Agarbatties, South India Paper Mills and Kaynes Technologies. Shops and business establishments in commercial hubs illuminated their premises voluntarily following a call from the district administration in view of the celebrations. A replica of the Parliament and the Vidhana Soudha were created using gold and yellow LED lights near the Railway Station, Mr. Satyanarayana said. Apprehensions Though there were apprehensions about the outcome of using LED lighting (in terms of brightness) when the CESC decided to say no to bulbs, the response to the eco-friendly lighting has been by and large positive. Feedback has been good. Hereafter, no bulbs will be used in Dasara lighting, he added. Hardinge Circle saw LED lights arranged to mimic flowers, which along with a revived fountain served greatly to enhance the circles beauty. Hundreds of trees in the city and several circles were also illuminated richly, in themselves acting as a tourist attraction. Many of Mysores heritage buildings, some over a century old, have also been spruced up with new lighting arrangements, including the majestic Crawford Hall, the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and Divisional Railway Manager, and the K.R. and Cheluvamba Hospitals. The illumination has enlivened the citys festive ambience. Mysore looks bright and colourful at night, thanks to the new arrangements, some locals, quite impressed by the lighting, told The Hindu on Wednesday evening. The city comes alive between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily, which prompted people to ask if it could be kept that way till 10.30 p.m., as some of the Dasara programmes at the Mysore palace and the Maharajas College grounds go on till 11 p.m.