Dussehra last night, so quiet this year….

Dussehra is celebrated as the culmination of Navratan, the 9 Nights of the Celebration of the Goddess.

Usually during Navratan there is dancing some evenings, singing of Holy Songs and many communities have a stage set up and night by night the Ramayana is retold….. with Dussehra the last night of the story unfolds when Ram confronts Ravanna the Demon. This last night is often a huge celebration.

When I first moved to Pushkar, I was taken to the Dussehra programme in the local cricket stadium, bursting with people a stage was set up and at the end of it an effigy, easily 3 stories high, constructed of bamboo and paper and stuffed with straw of the Demon Ravanna.

All very exciting, the play went on and at the end of it as Ram representing Good triumphs over the evil of the Demon, the effigy was set a light.

What a sight- it exploded up in flames and beautiful cinders flying through the air as the straw caught alight…. Then the burning cinders started showering the audience…. Not so nice and it started to dawn on me that that Giant Devil could topple over any minute and cover half the audience.

Wow

Exit stage right- Haha, Oh India…. Fun but wild sometimes.