Vijayadashami

Today is Vijayadashami, the culmination of a 10-day Hindu festival called Dassehra.

The festival's name is also spelled Dasara and Dussera, and is also called Navaratri. In southern India, the festival commemorates the victory of the Goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura near Mysore (For more details, see Wikipedia's entry).

On the eve of the day, we held a ceremony -- called puja -- at my office. An ad hoc mini-temple was set up in the lobby. Bedecked with flowers, it contained a picture depicting Ganesha and two other gods. A friend from New York said the temple's canopy reminded her of the canopy, or chuppah, erected for Jewish weddings.

On the floor were chalk inscriptions.

As at other Hindu temples, a priest came round with a tray with a flame on it. You put your hand over the flame, touch your warm hand to your forehead and then put a dot of colored powder on your forehead. You leave a little money on the tray (like collection in church).

I'm sure this ceremony is commonplace in many offices in India. But it was a first for me. And very special.

On the streets going home, I noticed that some cars had plants tied to their front bumpers (Readers: what does this signify?).

Vijayadashami is also a work holiday in southern India. So, I'm taking the day off.

Happy Dassehra