Click to play videoNew Delhi: Giant effigies of demon king Ravan, his son Meghnath and brother Kumbhkaran blazed and crackled in fiery splendour as Dussehra, symbolising the triumph of good over evil, was celebrated across the country on Sunday with gusto and traditional bonhomie.
At sundown, the effigies stuffed with firecrackers went up in flames commemorating the victory of Lord Ram over Ravan.
In the Capital, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the Dussehra celebrations at the Ram Lila Maidan.
Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi first set a couple of doves free as a sign of peace. Then the effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakarna were burnt.
A fourth effigy, symbolising terror was also set on fire. All in all, five effigies were burnt.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and several other leaders along with the Prime Minister and the Congress chief also saw the enactment of the penultimate episode of the Ramayana.
Attired in their festive best, thousands witnessed the spectacular fireworks at different venues after the towering effigies came crashing on the ground.
With police keeping a hawk-eye vigil in the wake of recent terror strikes in the country, the celebrations passed off peacefully with no reports of any untoward incident from any part of the country.
The burning of effigies or the vanquishing of evil marks the culmination of 10-day Navratri festivities.
After two decades, the people in insurgency-hit areas in Kashmir celebrated Dussehra with enthusiasm. Around 900 Kashmiri Hindu families in Srinagar burnt effigies at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium on Sunday.
In Punjab, celebrations were subdued in areas dominated by migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. This followed last Sunday's blast in a cinema hall in industrial town Ludhiana that left six dead and over 30 wounded, mostly labourers.
Kerala too is celebrating Vidyarambham, which literally means the beginning of learning. The festival is held in honour of Goddess Saraswati.
In temples across the state special ceremonies were held. Children aged between three and five are ceremonially initiated into the world of letters on this occasion.
The day's significance is not restricted to Hindus alone. Various educational institutions cutting across religious lines organise the Vidyarambham ceremony. Literateurs, cultural leaders and priests head the ceremony.
(With agency inputs)
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