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Pluralistic Mumbai heads ten ways on Dashami day

We’re One: From Shastra puja to Vidyarambham to Sindoor Khela, it’s celebrations all around

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A girl in traditional attire attend ‘Kumari Puja’ in Jabalpur on Monday
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Call it the day of good things in short. For, when it comes to Vijayadashami or Dussehra, there are various reasons and ways in which the day is celebrated by various communities in the city.

From morning prayers to distributing 'sona' to celebrating Ma Durga's homecoming to the burning of Ravan effigies, the day's relevance goes beyond the victory of good over evil. "Down south, particularly in Kerala, the last few days are reserved for Goddess Saraswati. We keep books before Her on the day of Navami and after pujas three times a day, they are opened and read in a symbolic manner on the day of Vijay Dashami," said Harikrishnan MK, a resident of Vile Parle.

The day is also reserved for initiating into new things, especially into the world of letters. "There is Astra puja and vehicle puja among others, depending on the job one is into. People start all good things on this day. Children between the age of three to six are initiated into reading and writing (Vidyarambham)," added Harikrishnan.

City's south Indian temples conduct pujas and 'homams' all nine days of Navratri. "There'll be homams for all Gods and Goddesses, including that of Ganpati and Hanuman. On Navami day, it is Chandi homam which is done before Goddess Kali or Durga which is basically an avatar of the Parvati," said KS Vishwanathan. associated with Sri Sankara Mattham, Matunga.

Vishwanathan said some southern states have the practice of keeping Golu dolls which are a celebration of prosperity. "There are dolls of Gods and Goddesses. Women also sing before them," said Vishwanathan.

Gujaratis celebrate the day as the victory of Mother Goddess. "The garba around which prayers are recited is finally immersed. Mother leaves after ridding us from the evil," said Dilip Bhatia.

Bengalis, meanwhile, make an elaborate celebration of home-coming of Ma Durga with her children by playing 'Sindoor Khela'.

"On Panchami, she is welcomed to her mother's house with her children and also as the Goddess. On Saptami, Pran Pratishta is done and after that, she is most powerful on Ashtami and Navami.

"On Dashami, a ritualistic 'darpan' immersion is done after which she is just a daughter at her mother's home. We have sindoor khela in which we apply sindoor to Mother Goddess," said Mitali Choudhury, who looks forward to the event.

Maharashtrians have their own novel way when it comes to celebrations at Matunga's Marubai Temple. It is a confluence of both Mother Goddess' slaying of Mahishasura and Lord Ram's homecoming. "It is the Swayambhu temple with Goddess' idol. Since south Indians are the primary devotees, a lot of celebrations are done that way. But we also celebrate the day by giving Sona (gold) or 'apta' leaves. It is given to celebrate Lord Ram's homecoming in Ayodhya. When he reached, the leaves turned to gold. It is the victory of good over evil and lightness over darkness," said Anil Gawand, managing trustee of Marubai Temple.

Elaborate celebrations to educate people about Lord Ram is done by Ramleela across city, mainly by north-Indians. "Ramleela is held for 10 days. It is the victory of good over evil. But we call people, especially from Mathura, to enact here. Today Ravan's effigy is also burnt. We need to teach the younger generation what these rituals mean," said Sharan Khanna, president of Sri Adarsh Ramleela Samiti, which conducted Ramleela for the 56th year at Girgaon Chowpatty.

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