Dussehra : Symbolizing the victory of good over evil

The month of September/October holds significant importance in Indian culture as almost all major festivals like Deepawali (festival of lights),Dussehra,navrartis and many more are observed in this period.So any one who wants to visit India this is the best time. 

During this in north India navrartis’ are celebrated with great fervor.

In the east it’s the Durga Puja and how i can forget the dandiya and garba dance associated with the festivities in west. 

Well, this time i am  focusing on the other aspect of this period which is mostly prevalent in northern India - Dussehra that is staging of Ramlila’s(Rama's play).Rama is considered to be the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu.Vishnu  is  the Supreme god according to hinduism . Well it’s hard to say that how and when the staging of Ramlila started but according to popular belief it was started to preserve the Indian cutlture and moral values.   

The staging of the Ramalila  is based on the Ramacharitmanas (Ramayana). The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India, the other being the Mahabharata. Ramlila, meaning “Rama’s play”, is a performance of the epic Ramayana in the form of a series of scenes that include song, narration and dialogue. The most representative Ramlila's is of Ayodhya (Birth place of Lord Ram).

Ramlila(Rama's play) at Ramlila Ground-Delhi

Ramlila 

On the tenth day of the play(Dussehra), the image of Ravana is burned, symbolizing the victory of good over evil.(Ravana was a king of ancient Lanka and the primary bad person in the Ramayana. Ravana kidnaps Rama's wife Sita, to claim revenge on Rama and his brother Lakshmana for having cut off the nose of his sister Surpanakha{ because she attacked to kill Sita}). The Ramlila brings the whole population together, without distinction of caste, religion or age.People celebrate Dussehra with Ramlila mela(play and fair). During Ramlila, the scenes from Lord Rama's life are depicted, where they especially show the reunion of Ram and his brother Bharat, and the destruction of the demon Ravana.

Effgies(Images) of   ,Kumbhkaran, Ravan  and son Meghanath burning
Website for this image connect.in.com 

Some more picture of fair and Rama's Play 

 In the capital city of Delhi Ramlila is staged  in almost all corners of the city. But the most famous Ramlila’s of the capital are those staged by the Shree Ramlila Committee at Ramlila ground and many  personalities including  prime ministers visit to watch the play and is believed to be the oldest running Ramlila of Delhi. Other important Ramlilas are the once staged by the Luv Kush committee at red fort grounds and Dharmik Leela Committee, which stages Ramlila at Subhash Maidan opposite Red Fort.

 In Delhi and other neighboring states, huge effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhkaran and son Meghanath are burnt in Ramlila mela which is organized by different communities.

Dussehra is a very important festival of the Hindus celebrated all over India especially in North India with loads of fun and zest.

Happy Deepawali and Dusshera to all my readers.
Raghav Sharma
New Delhi
India