Dussera
Dussera celebrates victory over the devil and draws from Rama's defeat of the 10 headed demon king Ravana and the Goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasur.
Dusserra seems to have become much more significant in Mumbai this year. In our first year in India we visited Udaipur over Dusserra and the festival was much more significant with temporary temples erected and kids out dancing the kolattam or stick dance almost every night. After returning to Mumbai from Udaipur we rarely saw any festivities on the streets
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| Our little friends |
Dusserra seems to have become much more significant in Mumbai this year. In our first year in India we visited Udaipur over Dusserra and the festival was much more significant with temporary temples erected and kids out dancing the kolattam or stick dance almost every night. After returning to Mumbai from Udaipur we rarely saw any festivities on the streets
This year there were any number of Rama and Durga statutes in roadside
shrines in the same manner as during Ganpatti.
On the roads with less traffic you could see people dancing, gambling
and socialising for the week of Dusserra.
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| Bright lights of festival season |
My logic is that Mumbai has a large population of migrants and they bring their traditions with them. This, combined with the fact that Mumbaikers love a good festival, means that all the regional festivals are enthusiastically celebrated.
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| Everyone wanted to be in the photos |
We visited the nearest shrine on our Vespa, which is the best way to move around Bandra when there is a festival, but were pestered by usual street kids demanding money which made the experience unpleasant. We moved on to a shrine near Khar fishing village and were warmly welcomed with all the kids wanting to get into the photos.
