Indore: On the last day of Sharadiya Navratri, the nine-day festival of Shakti worship was performed in most Hindu households on Sunday. Further, Yajna-Havan and other rituals were performed marking the end of Navratri and celebrations of Dussehra.
There was a queue of devotees outside temples of goddesses in the city especially ancient temples. Adorning the goddesses with jewellery, embellished sari and other essential ‘shrangar’, devotees celebrated the fest.
Thousands of devotees thronged at Bijasan Mata temple, Kalka Mata temple in Khajrana, Mahalaxmi temple in Rajwada, Mankameshwar Mandir and Annapurna temple. The ‘shrangar’ and ritual of worshipping the goddess was performed twice in the day.
Kanya Puja was held on Navami at 12 noon.
The ancient Mata Bhavani temple located in village Harsaula near the city was offered fifty-six types of food items (Chappan Bhog) to the mother.
Rangoli was also decorated with flowers and lamps at the main entrance of Annapurna temple. There were queues of devotees throughout the day to visit the temple.
Dussehra 2020: Ravana Dahan
Along with Maha-Navami, Vijayadashami festival was also celebrated on Sunday. Organisers of Ravana Dahan appealed to people to maintain social distance and avoid crowding to control Covid-19.
Instead, Ravana Dahan was streamed online with live feed on various social media platforms.
In Dussehra Maidan, 21-feet high Ravana was burnt here instead of the usual 111 feet effigy. Satyanarayana Salvadia and Pintu Joshi from the organising committee said, “Since, there was a ceiling of maximum 100 people to attend Ravana Dahan, we had urged people to stay at home and attend the Dahan via online stream.”
In Chimanbagh, people were asked not to attend Ravana Dahan in person. A 21-feet tall Ravana was set to fire and was captured on video.
In Tilak Nagar, people were not allowed on the ground. The organisers did not set up a stage or organise a firework show.
Avinash Pachauri from organising committee, said that Ravana was burnt symbolically this year citing coronavirus outspread.
In other areas including Kalani Nagar, Venkatesh Nagar, Pardeshipura and Vijay Nagar, Ravana Dahan was organised on a much smaller scale as compared to previous years.
What was missed this year?
· Procession with lord Ram and the army led by lord Hanuman. This was usually seen at Dussehra grounds, Chimanbagh and other places showcasing a large procession before Ravana Dahan.
· Generally, a play was stayed based on Ramayana, which was missed this year. In fact, there was no stage or seating arrangement this year at Ravana Dahan.
· Along with Ravana, many organisers prepared his entire palace known as ‘Lanka’ which was set to fire along with Ravana. This grand Lanka usually painted with gold colours was not seen anywhere this year.
· Effigies of Ravana’s brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghanada are often burnt with Ravana on Dussehra, but this year only symbolic Ravana was burnt.
· Firework shows were not included in celebrations this year.
