First: the Durga puja. 
So in the days leading up to Vijayadashami tents are constructed specifically for the purpose of putting up murtis of Durga and having special pujas to her. On the day of the holiday, the murtis are then taken to a local river, and put into the water (in a process called visarjan). The whole path of taking the murti to the river is like a big parade, several of which were happening in the streets close to where I was.
So in the days leading up to Vijayadashami tents are constructed specifically for the purpose of putting up murtis of Durga and having special pujas to her. On the day of the holiday, the murtis are then taken to a local river, and put into the water (in a process called visarjan). The whole path of taking the murti to the river is like a big parade, several of which were happening in the streets close to where I was.Second: Ramlila. Ramlila is a play that is performed each night of Navratri, leading up to Dussehra. It's the story of Ram, and each night a different segment is told. The basic story of Ram (as I understand it, though in the tradition of any epic religious tales, there's a bazillion versions): Ram is a prince of Ayodhya, but has the bad misfortune of having an evil stepmother who would prefer her own s
on to be king. Ram is banished from Ayodhya for 14 years, and lives in the fo
rest with his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshman. Ravan, the evil 
king of Lanka, sees Sita one day and decides he must have her. Ram is away one day 
(doing Ram-ly things? not sure where he goes, but it's necessary for the next part of the story), and Ravan comes and kidnaps Sita. The final showdown happens in Lanka when Ram goes to rescue Sita, and along with Lakshman and Hanuman, they beat the evil and Ram kills Ravan (and rescues Sita, of course, though methinks that's kind of a minor part).
on to be king. Ram is banished from Ayodhya for 14 years, and lives in the fo
rest with his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshman. Ravan, the evil 
king of Lanka, sees Sita one day and decides he must have her. Ram is away one day 
(doing Ram-ly things? not sure where he goes, but it's necessary for the next part of the story), and Ravan comes and kidnaps Sita. The final showdown happens in Lanka when Ram goes to rescue Sita, and along with Lakshman and Hanuman, they beat the evil and Ram kills Ravan (and rescues Sita, of course, though methinks that's kind of a minor part).This had been something I had seen in movies, and my mom always talked about it, and I was REALLY super excited. It did not disappoint. The costumes, the soundtrack, the over the top dialogue - great fun. Pictures here are of the noble Ram, the evil Ravan (he had this AWESOME evil laugh muahahahahaha sort of thing that would play every time he entered), etc.
Third: Ravan on fiiiiiiiire. No, this does not mean he was having a super performance one night. They literally light statutes/creations of Ravan on fire. Below, first, is video of the Ravan that was blown up at the Ramlila performance, after Ram defeats Ravan. At the performance there were two other figures blown up - these are commonly seen, I think, where there is a bigger crowd. They were Meghnath and Kumbhkarna, Ravan's son and brother, respectively.
But this whole business is not just reserved for big performances - this is something that happens in basically every street. Kids/neighbors will get together and make Ravans out of papier-mâché. Some are small, about my height, 
while some were mounted at street corners
and were as tall as the buildings. Everyone put firecrackers on the inside of the head, so as it started to light up, it would literally blow up. For several hours that night there were continuous bursts of firecrackers and lights in the distance from explosions. SO MUCH FUN. I would compare it to July Fourth, but let's face it, this was way cooler.
Just wanted you to know that I really enjoy your posts about Navratri and about the Babri mosque, because I teach about both of those, and now I can use your experiences/photos!
ReplyDelete