Where does Navratri leads us to? All the way to Dussera

Navratri and Dussera are often hard to separate. Many people see them in a continuum. Dussera of Mysore is so much celebrated that it has become the part of legends, but even that is more akin to Navratri and Devi Puja than Dussera. They don’t even burn the effigy of Ravana at the end of it. Kullu’s Dussera is no less famous either. In fact, every part of India has its own peculiar way of celebrating these festivals. And not just India. Let’s spare a glance to various popular forms of Navratri-Dussera festivals.

Bastar

In Chhattisgarh’s Bastar, Dussera is celebrated as a part of worshipping of Maa Danteshwari, one of the forms of Durga who is adored by the inhabitants of Bastar. Here Dussera is celebrated from Shravan Amawasya to Ashwin Shukl Trayodashi, when on latter date a festival called Ohadi is celebrated to round off the festivities.

Gujarat

Nowhere in the world Navratri is celebrated with more exuberance than Gujarat. Garba and Dandiya Raas enthrall the Gujaratis for nine nights. After which Dussera is celebrated with much zeal as completion of a long ceremony. Same goes with the Maharashtra, where at the end of it (on tenth day after Navratri that is) the Tantrik signs of Maa Saraswati are worshipped.

Bengal

The Durga Pujo of the East is famous and most famous of them all is of Bengal. In Bengal, the festival of Durga Pujo is celebrated for five days. In Odisha and Assam it is celebrated for four days. Enormous Durga idols are established in spectacular Pandals. On Shashthi, Durga Pujan and Pran Pratishtha is performed. On Saptami, Ashtami and Navami, Durga is worshipped twice in morning and evening. Special ceremonies take place on Dashmi, when women offer vermillion to Devi as well to other women. This magnificent celebration is called Sindur Khela. After which the Visarjan takes place.

Tamilnadu

So much is said and written about Mysore’s magnificent Dussera, that other Dravidian states are often forgotten in it. For instance, Dussera is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Tamilnadu as well as in Andhra Pradesh too, though not as spectacular as Karnataka. During nine day Dussera festival, Lakshmi, Saraswati and Durga are worshipped. Dussera is considered the perfect time to start learning any craft, especially that of music and dance. One prominent feature of Dravidian Dussera is that the effigy of Ravana is not set on fire here.

Abroad

The festival of Dussera is also celebrated with much enthusiasm in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, China, Thailand, Mauritus etc. Especially in Nepal it is a major festival, where people consider Lord Rama as their most prominent deity. Dussera is the biggest festival of Nepal, which is celebrated by Gorkha forces in their own peculiar way.