Dushehra is celebrated with a great deal of enthusiasm in the eastern part of the country. It is celebrated over a period of ten days and is an occasion of revelry for all. New clothes, fun, dance, exhibitions, and greatly decorated pandals in which the idols of Goddess Durga are installed.
Dussehra celebrates the victory of good over evil as depicted in the epic Ramayana. Rama, the prince of Ayodhya defeats Ravana with the help of an army of monkeys. Dushehra celebrates this victory.
The scenes from the Ramayana are enacted in a folk art form called Ramlila. Every nook and corner has its own Ramlila, and the whole story of Rama's life is acted out in 10 days. On the tenth day, when Rama kills Ravana, effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and his son Indrajit are burnt. People compete with each other to make bigger and better effigies and as they burn, the hidden fireworks begin.
In Tamil Nadu, Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity, Saraswati, Goddess of learning and arts and Shakti (Durga) are also worshipped. In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, families arrange dolls called Bommai Kolu giving it different forms on specially built steps. They decorate it with elaborate spread of lamps and flowers. People fast and pray. In Kerala, books are kept at the place of worship for three days during which period children are not required to study.

Where: Most states of India.