Dassera — Victory of Good over Evil
Dassera is the Hindu festival which signifies the victory of good over evil. I grew up listening to stories about how on this day, many many years back, Bhagwan Ram defeated Ravana to end the battle which involved an army of monkeys, a large eagle and smaller animals all supporting him. We heard the stories of Durga Maa who got the power from all the other Gods and Goddesses to defeat the demon Mahishasura. During the nine days of Navratri leading to Dassera my friends and me would go to dance the traditional dance of “garba” in the neighborhood which was around an idol or frame of the Goddess. We would go to visit friends who kept the “Golu” — a collection of clay figurines decorated on 9 steps. On one of the nine days, my friend’s grandma would invite all the young girls and wash their feet and give us sweets and gifts. Dassera was kind of the big finale to these nine days of celebrating the feminine energy. The entrance to homes had garlands of golden marigolds. On the day of Dassera, we got to see large effigies of Ravana being burnt. Sometimes, we would go see a performance of the Ram Lila, a short enactment of the Ramayana.
As a child this was all very exciting. These were traditions and things we did and enjoyed. But the connection to how it related to our daily life weren’t always highlighted. When I had children, I wanted to continue the traditions but it isn’t always easy when you are away from the environment where every other household is celebrating the same things.
I wanted to bring that same childhood excitement to various traditions, hence I began the Culture Box. Teaching about the significance of festivals and connecting the symbolism to the current everyday became the soul of the initiative. Of the many many workshops I have taught, the Dassera workshop is one of my favorites. The participants created an effigy of King Ravana after they had heard about the symbolism to his nine heads or qualities:
Kama (lust)
Krodha (anger)
Moha (delusion)
Lobha (greed)
Mada (pride)
Maatsarya (envy)
Buddhi (intellect)
Manas (mind)
Chitta (will)
Ahamkara (ego)
Participants then go on to write out the various things that relate to their current reality that they want to change. Things they want to improve on. And then light fire to their personal Ravana. This has been a powerful conversation each time I have taught the workshop. The symbolism of Ravana is no longer viewed as a spectator but practiced. I hope we are all able to see and learn from our traditions the world over, because they are often a means to share gained experience or wisdom in a fun engaging way.