Australia celebrates Dussehra with festive fevour

Dussehra festival returned to Australia after two years of social distancing and restrictions as the Indian community celebrated the auspicious festival with family and friends.

Key Points

• Dussehra is an annual Indian festival that marks the win of good over evil
• Indian Australian families got together to celebrate this year post-COVID
• Indian businesses are happy as the market looks promising this festival season

Atharva, an 11-year-old boy from Perth, said this year's Dussehra had been extremely special for him. He celebrated the festival with his grandparents this year after a long gap.

"This is a very special Dussehra. My grandparents are here from India. I am very excited to celebrate with them after so long," he said.

Atharva (in blue kurta) with his family. Credit: Supplied by Divya Palsodkar

Atharva shares an interesting family Dussehra tradition.

He explains, "We build Ravanas of rice and hide a gold ring in one of them. The kids then have to find which one has the hidden ring. It is fun to play!"

Myra Saxena, five, and Shayri Saxena, six, understand the meaning of Dussehra very well.

Myra Saxena with her parents. Credit: Supplied by Ayushi Saxena

"Lord Rama killed the demon Ravana and rescued his wife Sitaji. We celebrate his return by eating sweets like laddus and jalebis," she said.

Shayri Pal with her family. Credit: Supplied by Ayushi Jain Saxena

Sydney-based Kinjal Soni is a caterer who supplies food to temples during festivals. She came to Australia in 2009 and has been in this line of work since then.

She says that post-COVID business has started to pick up.

Kinjal Soni preparing festive meals in the temple with other community members. Credit: Supplied by Kinjal Soni

"Orders have almost doubled up. People have travelled to meet their families. People are celebrating in large groups. Community events are taking place. All this gives an obvious boost to our business," she says.

Fafda, a traditional Dussehra delicacy, being packaged at temples. Credit: Supplied by Kinjal Soni

Festivals are said to be harbingers of joy, happiness, and social cohesion.

Myra and Shayri put this beautifully when they say, "We have both good and evil within us. Dussehra is all about killing the demon inside us."

Tune into SBS Hindi at 5 pm every day and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.