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Fervour marks Dussehra festivities in the Capital
All smiles: UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during Dussehra celebrations at Subhas Maidan in Delhi on Thursday.
NEW DELHI: Hundreds of people congregated at the historic Ramlila Ground here on Thursday evening to witness Dussehra, the festival that symbolises the triumph of good over evil.
As the gigantic effigies of demon Ravana, who had abducted Lord Rama’s wife Sita, his son Meghnad and brother Kumbhkaran went up in flames, the spectators went ecstatic, waving and cheering for Lord Rama.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president J. P. Agarwal watched the ceremony from a raised platform.
Ms. Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her two children were also present.
Welcoming the guests, Mr. Agarwal congratulated the Congress president and the Prime Minister on the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal that would “put India firmly on the path of progress”.
With the Ramlila Ground was bursting at the seams, a large number of people stood outside the gates to watch the burning of the effigies and the fireworks that lit up the night sky.
Scores of people climbed the rooftops of residential buildings in the locality to view the celebrations.
Before the guests arrived, Ramlila artistes enacted the final battle episode of Ramayana.
Earlier, the Prime Minister, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and the Congress president visited Subhas Maidan to take part in the Dussehra festivities.
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