Bollywood celebs observe Dussehra on Twitter

Added by Gary Dunn on October 24, 2012

Indians all over the world on Wednesday celebrated Dussehra, a festival of good over evil and a festival heralding the arrival of Winter after a scorching summer.

The festival has its roots in in a story of Lord Rama, a Hindu god, who killed a king, Ravana, that abducted his wife Sita. The triumph of good over evil is reenacted in various ceremonies throughout the year, yet Dussehra brings the reenactments to everyone across India including fireworks and the lighting of firecrackers.

Dussehra also represents an auspicious day for starting education or any form of art, like music or dance. Students include their books and workers their tools for prayers, or pujas, which are taken back and used on the next day. The ancient practice is observed by even non-Hindus and many churches during 2004, in Kerala, formally adopted the tradition.

Bollywood stars offered their best wishes for the celebration on Twitter.

Sherlyn Chopra (@SherlynChopra) tweeted, “May your lives be filled with limitless happiness & the fulfillment of all your dreams…Wish Ya’ll a Happy Dussehra…”

Poonam Pandey (@iPoonampandey) said, “A gentle reminder about the consequences of fooling around with someone else’s wife – Happy Dussehra”

Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) tweeted, “May all your worries in life burn along with the effigy of Ravana. Good prevails over evil always! Happy Dussehra and Shubho Bijoya everyone”

Neil Nitin Mukesh (@NeilNMukesh) wrote, “Happy Dussehra”.

Many tweets referenced the story behind Dussehra.

Hinduism refers to a religious mainstream that evolved and spread over a large territory marked by significant ethnic and cultural diversity. The earliest evidence of Hinduism dates back to 5500–2600 BCE; the primary language of Hinduism is Sanskrit – listed among 22 languages of India.