JAMMU: Dussehra marking victory of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana symbolising victory of good over evil, was celebrated with fanfare across Jammu region today.
Dussehra marks the end of Navratra and the beginning of 20-day-long wait for Diwali to celebrate the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after killing Ravana.
Hindus burnt giant effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnath installed at Parade Ground here, which became a major attraction for devotees and onlookers.
Hundreds of people, including women and children thronged the ground to witness the fireworks and the ritual of burning the effigies this evening.
Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Nirmal Singh attended the Dussehra celebration at Parade Ground which was organised by Sanatan Dharam Sabha.
Minister of State for Culture, Education and Tourism, Priya Sethi, Member Parliament Shamsher Singh Manhas, Legislators Sat Sharma and Rajesh Gupta, IGP Danish Rana, Senior BJP Leader Yudhvir Sethi, besides prominent citizens were present on the occasion. “May the celebration bind the people in a true sense of brotherhood and motivate us to make renewed efforts for unity and progress of our country” the Deputy Chief Minister asserted.
Stressing on the importance of promoting and celebrating such religious events, the Deputy Chief Minister said that such occasions provide us an opportunity to introspect and further improve our attitude and behaviour to become a good human being.
Elaborating on significance of Dussehra, the Deputy Chief Minister said that this festival commemorates victory of good over evil thus inspiring the whole mankind for creating a better world to live in. He said that this festival has great religious and historic significance as well.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that consigning effigy of Ravana to flames will not end evil from the society but a crusade needs to be launched against the nefarious designs. Such rituals should encourage us to contain evil spirit within ourselves to make this world a peaceful place to live in, he added.
Nirmal Singh appreciated the efforts of army, security forces, police and other agencies for fighting tough against the anti national elements and providing us a safe atmosphere. He also expressed gratitude to the people for maintaining peace, communal harmony and brotherhood during hard times.
Priya Sethi, while speaking on the occasion, said that the festival reminds us that those who follow the path of virtue, goodness and honesty always emerge victorious. She greeted the people and said that Dussehra marks victory of forces of good over evil and fills the people with the spirit of brotherhood and amity. She appreciated the Sanatan Dharam Sabha for organising the function in such a grand way.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister and other dignitaries performed traditional Pooja on the occasion.
Various Jhankis were also taken out on the occasion which culminated at Parade Ground where the effigy of Ravana was torched.
Meanwhile, Dussehra festival was also held at Dussehra Ground Gandhi Nagar this evening in which Speaker Legislative Assembly, Kavinder Gupta was the Chief Guest.
Thousands of people watched the burning of sky high effigies of demon king Ravana, his brother Kumbhkarana and son, Meghnath, to mark the victory of good over evil.
The function was organised by the Laxmi Narayana Mandir Committee.
The Speaker was accompanied by former Minister, Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak and other prominent citizens.
Kavinder extended wishes to the people and expressed hope that such religious events will help people introspect and become a good human being for larger interest of the society. He said that Dussehra symbolises the triumph of good over evil and one should take a pledge on this day to sink the evils and follow the path of truth and service to mankind.
The Speaker urged upon the people to work collectively for peace, prosperity and development of the State.
Meanwhile, Dussehra was also celebrated at Sainik Colony with enthusiasm. Newly appointed Administrator of Lakshadweep Farooq Khan was the Chief Guest while Th. Jai Singh senior Congress leader was the Guest of Honour. A Jhanki was also taken out which commenced from Sainik Colony Ram Mandir to Dussehra Ground. A large gathering of people witnessed the celebration.
Subhash Singh Jamwal, Satish Singh Jamwal, Vicky Charak, Sikander Singh Kuka, Arun Singh, Adv Rahul Singh, Vishav Singh, Mian Abhay Pratap Singh, Abimanyu Jamwal, Dhanush Jamwal and Antriksh Jamwal were also present.
RAVANA IN FLAMES: KUMBHAKARNA, MEGHNATH STAND TALL
JAMMU: Before Hanuman was tasked to set Lanka on fire and liberate Mata Sita the organisers of the Dussehra festival in Channi Himmat were making announcements, ‘Carry out surgical strike on Lanka and liberate Mata Sita’.
Amid loud cheers the enthusiastic speaker went on to claim that Hanuman must have carried out the first surgical strike in the history.
And soon after Lanka went in to flames and the effigy of Meghnath and Kumbhakarna were set on fire, the onlookers and hundreds of disciples of Lord Rama could not believe their eyes what they were witnessing for the first time.
The effigies of Meghnad and Kumbhakaran stood tall even after several attempts were made to ignite fire by the volunteers present on the spot.As the crowd grew restive and started chants of Jai Shri Ram, the organisers decided to torch the effigy of Ravana. In contrast to two previous attempts Ravana went into flames while effigies of his brothers stood tall. The Dussehra Committee, Channi Himmat had invited Forest Minister Ch Lal Singh for the ceremony.
As people waited for both Meghnath and Kumbhakarna to fall, Lal Singh also could not move out and waited as people ran towards the effigies and started pulling the long ropes.
Ravana’s brothers were not ready to oblige anyone and stood tall. After VVIP left the venue on foot and boarded his official car from near Channi Himmat Police Station the organisers of the Dussehra Committee deployed volunteers to bring down the effigies after igniting fresh fire.