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Tale of Dussehra

Dussehra 2018, an Indian Festival is being celebrated on 19 October. Dussehra comes on the 10th day after conclusion of Navratri’s which is celebrated for 9 days to worship Goddess Durga. Derived from Sanskrit word dasha (ten) and hara (defeat), it marks the victory of Lord Rama over ten headed demon king Ravana.

A day celebrated 20 days before Diwali, this is also seen as a victory of good forces over evil, Lord Rama being the symbol of good over Ravana, a symbol of ego and anger. The teaching of Ramayana, an epic that narrates the story of life of Lord Rama, inspires a person how to conquer inner demons like anger, ego, selfishness etc.

The story begins when Rama, the prince of Ayodhya along with wife Sita and brother Laxman was sent to 14 year of exile by his father Dashratha on pretext of his second wife Kaikeyi. While in exile an incident happens where Laxman chopped of the nose of Shrupnakha, sister of Ravana. To avenge his sister, Ravana kidnapped Sita and brought her to Lanka. Ram along with his allies Sugriv, Angad and the mightiest Hanuman declares war on Lanka to rescue his wife Sita. Hanuman, a disciple of Ram set the Ravana’s citadel on fire. Soon after Ravana losses his brother Kumbhkaran and eldest son Meghnath in the battle. Finally, the 13-day battle comes to an end when Lord Rama kills Ravana. Vibhishana, brother of Ravana who was never approved his acts played an important role in Ravana’s defeat and was crowned as King of Lanka  thereafter.

Dusshera is celebrated all over India and the most popular way of celebrating is through narration of the Lord Rama life mentioned in Ramayana, an epic written by Valmiki Das. This dramatic re-enchantment of Lord Rama’s life is called as Ram leela. It normally starts with Navratri and concludes on Dussehra. Ram leela shows all the incidence and contents starting from the birth of Lord Ram to his marrying Sita, being in exile, Sita’s kidnap and then the fight with Ravana. On 10th day, the day of Dussehra, is shown the last part of Ram leela where Rama kills Ravana. This is then concluded by burning the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath.

The Ram leela is often shown amid a fair which runs for around 10 days. People enjoy these fairs along with their families and kids are always excited to buy toys. One of the most common toys are bows and arrows which were the weapons used by Lord Rama and Gada, a weapon used by Lord Hanuman during the battle. Then one can find lot of street food stalls which are an integral part of these fairs. In Stockholm you can find some of these street delicacies at Indian Street Food restaurant.