September October Festivals & Holidays
Navratri-Dusshera-Durga Pooja:
The most popular of the Indian festivals,it takes place over 10 days.It is celebrated in the honour of goddesses Durga,Lakshmi and Saraswati.In the north,Dusshera is celebrated with a rendition of Ramayana,called Ram Lila(life story of Lord Rama),with fireworks and re-enactments of the Ramayana, while in Mysore and Ahmedabad there are processions and in Gujarat it is Navratri (festival of nine nights).On the ninth day,a huge effigy of the demon king Ravana is set on fire.In many places it culminates with the burning of huge images of the demon king Ravana and his accomplices, symbolic of the triumph of good over evil.In the West Bengal,this is celebrated as Durga Pooja,,durga’s victory over the buffalo-headed demon Mahishasura.Clay figures of the Great Mother are worshipped and immersed in the sea or river.In Gujarat,men and women dance all the nine nights (Navratri).In the south,it is celbrated as doll’s festival in homes.Icons of temple deities are put on decorative display and taken out on processions.
Gandhi Jayanti:
Gandhi Jayanti public holiday is a solemn celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on 2nd October with prayer meetings at the Raj Ghat in Delhi where he was cremated.
