The festival of Dassera, also known as Vijayadashmi, is one of the fascinating festivals of India and is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm for ten continuous days. The first nine nights are spent in the worship of goddess Durga and hence these nights are known as ‘Navaratri’. This festival falls in the month of Ashwin (September / October).
The tenth day of the Dassera day is in honour of Durga Devi. The tribal communities also worship Durga as the presiding deity of Navaratri. The farmers invoke her blessings because this festival coincides with the period of rest and leisure after their strenuous work in the fields.
The farmers with her blessings wait with tremendous hopes for a bountiful harvest. Navratri is a festival of worship, dance and music celebrated over a period of nine nights. It is celebrated from the first to ninth date of Ashwin Shukla Pasha of the Hindu Calendar for the worship of the Goddess Durga. Goddess Durga is believed to exist in many forms like Goddess Bhavan i, Jagdamba, Maha kali etc.
Devotees perform the ‘devi-‘ in their homes wherein they invite the Goddess and perform ‘poo ja-path’ for nine days. Gujaratis perform their traditional dances ‘Garba’ &’Dandiya-Raas’ during Navratri. The women-folk dance in a circle, singing ‘Garbas’ or traditional songs.’ Dandiya-Raas’ is played with wooden sticks or ”. Apart from Gujarat, Garbas are performed in other states & cities like Mumbai. Beautifully decorated ‘manda ps ” are set up for playing garb a & by various cultural societies, housing committees & youth social groups.
The Essay on Pohela Boishakh Festival
Pohela Boishakh is a Public festival of the Bengalis; it is celebrated among all Bengalis- irrespective of religious and regional differences. In Bangladesh, it is a national holiday celebrated around 14th April. The traditional greeting for Bengali New Year is “Shubhô Nôbobôrsho”. Pohela Boishakh is also the beginning of all business activities. I am lucky enough that I am a Dhaka ...
Young men-women wear colourful traditional dresses and play Garba with great enthusiasm. The mood of Navratri is very colourful & unique. In West Bengal, Navratri is celebrated as ‘Durga-poo ja ” which is the most important festival in that part of India. Celebrations of Durga-poo ja in Bengal are similar to celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra. Idols of Goddess Durga are worshipped for nine days in beautifully decorated ‘panda als’. It is a public festival.
On the tenth day, the ‘Visarjan’ or immersion of idols in sea waters is performed. in various parts of India, the ‘Ram-Leela’ is performed during Navratri. Ram-Leela is a stage en action of Ramayana, the story of Lord Rama. The day after Navratri, i. e. , tenth day, is observed as ‘Dassera’ or ‘Vijayadashmi’.
It marks the victory of good over evil. It is believed that on this day, Lord Rama had killed the demon Ravana. So, on Vijayadashmi, effigies of Ravana are burnt all over India.
