Friday, October 14, 2011

Dushera

About a week ago I witnessed a seemingly very dangerous event. Thousands of people jammed into a small fairground with very small exit doors, with very large bombs and fireworks exploding in front of us. And by very large, I mean 100ft tall statues of fire and explosion.

But no need to be alarmed, this happens every year. And, as real as you are sitting and reading, I am also here sitting and writing, very much alive and safe.

The significance of Dushera is that of good defeating evil. In Hindu tradition there is a great battle in which a god, Rama, defeats an evil demon, Ravanna. Therefore, these flaming statues are statues of Ravanna and his cohorts going down in flames, a reinactment or symbol of good's power over evil.

The following video is a little long, but you can see all three statues explode and just how large and loud the crowd is here in our little city.

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