Nine days of Navratra stand for different manifestations of Goddess Durga and also have different connotations for various communities residing in the city

The festival of Dusshera might be synonymous with the triumph of good over evil, and be the connecting bond between various communities in India, but the festival does have distinct regional flavours across the nation with the having diverse threads attached to it giving it its own individual identity.

"The main aim of the festival is celebrating the triumph of Goddess Durga, also known as the Divine Mother, over the Asura Mahisasura. The battle between the two of them had raged on for nine nights and had ended on the day of Dusshera wherein she vanquished him," says Neeta Roy, a homemaker. "Bengali families prepare special food items like Payesh, Khichuri, Luchi, Aloor Dum and many more. In addition to this we also have the Astra-Shastra puja, wherein we worship all the tools and instruments that we use for work. For those families, which install the idol of the goddess for the last five days, of the festival, the idol is immersed on Dusshera day. Before the immersion however we have an important ritual amongst married women called Shidoor Khela where married women disperse Vermillion (sindoor) in the air and also play with it to symbolise a long and happy married life. They also apply the same to the idol of the goddess to seek her blessings for the same," she adds.

"The festival is almost similar in Bihar as it is in West Bengal," says Subhra Srivastava a working professional. "One important part of the festival is the fact that as compared to down south, non-vegetarian food is traditionally cooked here. So we have dishes like the Malpua, dahivada and lamb cooked in a variety of spices, and different types of rice made for Dusshera. In addition we usually dress up in new clothes and the youngsters in the families receive money from the elders as blessing,” she adds.

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