The Ravana effigy in flames, at the Dussehra celebrations, at Ramleela Maidan on the occasion of Vijay Dashmi, in New Delhi on October 6, 2011.
Giant effigies of demon king Ravana, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhakaran went up in flames amid spectacular displays of fireworks as people across the country celebrated Dussehra across the country today.
Thousands of people in different parts of the country also bid farewell to Goddess Durga with religious fervour as she returned to her celestial abode.
Ramlilas, enacting events from the life of Lord Rama, were staged in many places during the nine days of festivities that preceded today's celebrations.
In Delhi, Vice-President M Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit were among a host of leaders who attended Dussehra celebrations at the Subhash Maidan near Red Fort in New Delhi.
Before the burning of the effigies of Ravana, Meghnad and Kumbhakaran, Dr Singh and Ms Gandhi spent some time backstage with the artistes who were enacting Ramlila on the stage.
Later, they set free white pigeons and balloons in a gesture of peace and harmony.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi at the Dussehra celebrations, at Ramleela Maidan on the occasion of Vijay Dashmi, in New Delhi on October 6, 2011.
United News of India adds:
Dusseha was celebrated with gaiety, enthusiasm and fervour across Andhra Pradesh. In the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, lanes and bylanes reverberated with songs praising Goddess Durga.
Clad in their best, people thronged temples from the crack of dawn to worship the Goddess. Temples were decked up with lights and flowers and special pujas conducted as part of celebrations.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Urmila Singh inaugurated a week-long International Kullu Dussehra festival by participating in the Rath Yatra of Lord Raghunathji at the historic Dhalpur Ground, Kullu.
Ms Singh said Himachal Pradesh was known as the land of Gods and Goddesses and their congregation during the Dussehra festival depicts the vivid culture of Himachal.
Ms Singh said "besides promoting our rich culture, Dussehra also promotes tourism in a big way."
Durga puja was celebrated peacefully in Christian-dominated Mizoram. The Hindustan Club of Aizawl has literally kept the flame of Durga puja burning since 1904 in this remote North-east state where nearly 90 per cent of the population are Christians.
"We have been celebrating Durga puja here without any disturbance since the past 107 years. This is possible only through the harmonious co-existence among people of all faiths, particularly the tolerance and hospitality of the majority Mizo Christians," Hindustan Club of Aizawl president P Chakraborty said here.
In Uttarakhand's capital Dehradun, the main attraction was a 60-feet tall Ravan effigy set up at the sprawling Parade Ground in the heart of the city, where hundreds of people assembled to witness the end of the evil King through a remote controlled device, used for the first time in Uttarakhand.
Earlier, the procession of elaborately decorated "chariot-car" carrying Lord Rama accompanied by brother Lakshman and monkey-God Hanuman among others, accompanied by hundreds of devotees, wound through the main thoroughfares of the city before reaching the main "battlefield".
At the same time, the Navratra festivities dedicated to Goddess Durga also drew to an end with the elaborate idols of the Goddess and her family, given an emotional send-off for her matrimonial home in Mount Kailash after a sojourn in her maternal home.
Dussehra was celebrated with gaiety and enthusiasm in Maharashtra with people greeting their near and dear ones on the occasion.
The famous Mahalaxmi Temple in Mumbai was decked up with lights and flowers and special pujas conducted as part of the celebrations.
There was a large rush seen in the temple since midnight last night. People were also seen exchanging gifts of leaves from the Shami tree (Prosopis spicigera) as a symbol of the story of the Pandavas brothers' exile in the Mahabharata stories.
People all over may treat Ravan as symbol of evil and untruth and burn him in effigy on Dussehra every year, but residents of a small locality along the Mehrangarh fort-hill in Jaipur at Rajasthan regard the demon king of Lanka as their ancestor and a benevolent and mighty warrior and learned pundit.
Locals mourn his death and perform post-funeral rituals like holy bath and holy wash in their houses after the effigy burning on this day every year.
It is generally believed that Mandodri the princess of Mandawara, now Mandore, situated about nine km from here, was married to Ravan and the locality is the place where Ravan had stayed after the marriage.
Members of the Mysore Wadiyar royal family held their traditional Dussehra festivities inside the Mysore palace. The scion of the Wadiyars, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar performed the "shammi pooja" at the Bhuvenswari Temple inside the palace premises.
The private durbar of the Mysore royal family was held to commemorate Dussehra festivities, the genesis of which is traced to the celebrations observed by the Vijayanagar emperors in Hampi.
The baton was passed to the Wadiyars who kept alive the tradition with customary rituals adding a dash of colour with the caparisoned elephants, horses, and soldiers participating in a procession.
In the past, the Maharaja used to ascend the royal throne on all nine days and hold a durbar while the subjects used to pay their obeisance to the ruler.