Dussehra Across India: 10 Unique Celebrations You Must Know!

The festival of victory, Dussehra, is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm all over India. The fundamental theme remains the same, but each state in India has its way of doing things differently from the others, which makes each celebration unique and exciting. Let's go on a trip around the state of India and experience different ways in which Dussehra is commemorated.

1. Delhi: Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnad's effigies
In Delhi, the capital, Dussehra is celebrated with grand processions and giant effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, and Meghnad inside them. The city's Ramleela Maidan conducts a significant fair with thousands of devotees.

2. Uttar Pradesh: Ramlila and Ramayana Recitals

Uttar Pradesh celebrates this festival in grand style, especially in Ayodhya, Faizabad, and Varanasi, through Ramlila performances and recitals of Ramayana, followed by the burning of Ravana's effigy.

3. West Bengal: Durga Puja and Dhunuchi Dance

West Bengal is a state that combines Dussehra and Durga Puja with equal vigour. The splendid Dhunuchi dance, along with clay pots and sticks, only makes the festive bash better.

4. Gujarat: Garba and Dandiya Raas

Finally, the last day of Navratri in Gujarat is also known as Dussehra, and it is full of Garba and Dandiya Raas dance programs. Indeed, thanks to the culture of the people in this region, it has stood the test of time.

5. Karnataka: Mysuru Dasara

Mysuru Dasara is a ten-day event that focuses on the cultural history of the state of Karnataka. It includes an elephant procession, cultural activities, and a torchlight roads parade.

6. Tamil Nadu: Kolu and Bommai Golu

Dussehra is celebrated in Tamil Nadu as Kolu. In this period, families present the most detailed dolly arrangements, which are named Bommai Golu. In this festival, good is celebrated over evil.

7. Odisha: Durga Puja and Ravana Podi

In Odisha, celebratory Dussehra is even better celebrated than Durga Puja. Households pray to goddess Durga and pen down how Ravana could be defeated. In other Odia households, a dollhouse called Ravana Podi is found, which is a stick and straw effigy of the ten-headed demon king Ravana.

However, in Odisha's context of Dussehra, it is observed mainly with Durga Puja and the burning of the Ravana Podi. This also compliments the enjoyment of the traditions and customs of the state.

8. Madhya Pradesh: Ramlila and effigy burning 
A festival called Dussehra is around the corner. It includes the features of Ramlila and the burning of the effigy of Ravana, which is peculiar to Ujjain and Indore.

9.Telangana, Bathukamma

Telangana's iconic temples, including Warangal's Durga Temple, Basara Temple, and Alampur Jogulamba Temple (one of the 18 sacred Shaktipeethas), come alive during Navaratri.

Young women celebrate with Bathukamma, dancing around a flower-adorned clay pot. This joyful festival is observed with fervor across all Goddess Durga temples in Telangana.

10. Kerala: Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja
In Kerala, Dussehra is celebrated as a festival consisting of Saraswati Puja and Ayudha Puja, the worship of the goddess of intellect and arms, respectively. It brings to focus the peculiar culture of the state.

Also read: Tirumala Brahmotsavam Day 2: Lord Malayappa Swami's Hamsa Vahana Ride