Dasara/ Dusshera is here...

The festival of dolls or Dasara/ Dusshera has started since couple of days. The festivities are taking place in some homes in India who still remain strong in roots and have not sold out to the modernization that has swept the Subcontinent since the opening up of markets in 1991. There are a wide array of ways people celebrate this 10 day festival which culminates in the Vijaya Dashami, the day when Goddess Durga vanquished Mahishasura, the evil demon who was terrorizing the people of the world.

When I was a kid growing up in un-liberalized India, these 10 days were marked by festivities at home. Dolls of all kinds would be kept on display and kids from neighborhood would visit homes to look at the dolls and enjoy some snacks. But now kids are busy with their television programs, computers, video games, and last but not the least studies, so there is no time for visiting neighbors. Parents are busy working in their jobs trying to achieve their performance targets and getting promotions so they don't seem to have any time for festivals and ceremonies.

The one way everyone definitely celebrates this major festival in India is by sending greeting cards, and gifts to their loved ones. This is spurred on by large corporations that have stepped up and introduced special products for this season and I guess now it is the businesses that will make sure that people don't forget the festival seasons.