Dussehra Date

Dussehra date keeps on changing every year. However, Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the bright fortnight (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu autumn month of Ashvin or Ashwayuja, and is the grand culmination of the 10-day annual Navaratri festival. The word "Dussehra" can also be interpreted as "Dasa-Hara", which stands for the cutting of the ten heads of Ravana by Lord Rama.

In 2015, Dussehra will fall on 22nd October. The festivities of Dussehra also mark the commencement of the winter season after a long, scorching summer. Like every year, in the upcoming Dussehra 2015, Ram Lila will be the main attraction of Dussehra in many parts of India, the most prominent being Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Mysore and Orissa.

Dusshera celebrations are simply spectacular. Brilliantly decorated images and processions depicting various episodes from Ram's life are taken out. In north India the Dussehra celebration includes the Ram Lila that consists of plays, recitations and music that recall the life of the legendary hero, Ram. In Delhi, many amateur troupes perform Ram Lila based on the epic story of Ramayana throughout the nine-day worship of Goddess Durga.

On the tenth day, or the Vijayadasami, colossal effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhkarna and son Meghnad are placed in vast open spaces. Actors dressed as Ram, his wife Sita, and brother Lakshman arrive and shoot arrows of fire at these effigies, which are stuffed with firecrackers. The result is a deafening blast, and an explosion of sound and light enhanced by the shouts of merriment and triumph of the spectators.