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The 75-day Dussehra celebration, the world's longest, began on Sunday in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district with adherence to a 600-year-old ritual.
According to the 600-year-old ritual, it is believed that the goddess 'Kachhin' grants permission to the 'Raj Parivar' of the Bastar district to celebrate Dussehra, and hence the festivities begin. A minor girl, deemed as Goddess 'Kachhin', granted the 'Raj Parivar' permission to celebrate 'Dussehra' by swinging on a swing of thorns. Different rituals are performed each day for 75 days. Unlike other places where the idols of 'Ravan' are burnt, here the festival is celebrated honouring the 'Mahishasur Mardini Adishakti'. The tribal community of the district play an important role in the Dussehra celebrations here. "The ritual has been being followed for over 600 years. After the goddess grants us permission to celebrate the festival, the festivities begin. The ritual of 'Kalash Sthapna' and 'Rath yatra' will begin today", Kamal Chandra Bhanjdev, a member of the Raj Parivar told ANI. "It is believed that the two daughters of our king, namely Kachhin Devi and Raila Devi, had performed 'Johar' (an act of setting oneself to fire instead of submitting to enemies). Since then, the holy souls of the daughters roam around here and come upon the girl children and bless us. Taking her permission, we kickstart the events", he added. Dussehra is celebrated on the tenth day of the Navratri festival. The festival symbolises the triumph of good over evil. Meanwhile, as the Navratri festival has begun today, preparations for the same are in full swing across the nation. (ANI)
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