50-feet-tall Ravana effigy burnt on Dussehra organized by Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad & Sanmarg at Central Park
Kolkata, 5th Oct: Keeping up with the tradition of burning the tallest effigy in the city of joy during Dussehra, Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad Committee & Sanmarg burnt a 50-feet tall Ravana and 40 feet effigies of Meghnad and Kumbhakaran at the Central Park (Salt Lake), Kolkata. The main objective of this event was to provide a vibrant interface between the citizens and the rich culture & tradition of West Bengal by celebrating the victory of good over evil.
The event was attended by: Saurav Ganguly, President of BCCI; Firhad Bobby Hakim, Hon’ble Mayor of Kolkata; Sujit Bose, Minister of State for Fire; Vivek Gupta, MLA; Pradeep Todi, President of Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad; Lalit Beriwala, Margdarshak of Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad; Nitin Singhi, Secretary of Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad; Ashok Todi, Chairman Lux Industries Ltd. & many other eminent personalities.
The event drew thousands of devotees to the ground to witness the annual ritual – the burning of an effigy of demon king Ravan. Many people of the Hindu faith observe Dussehra through special prayer meetings and food offerings to the gods at home or in temples throughout India. They also hold outdoor fairs and large parades with effigies of the demon king Ravana, which are burnt on bonfires in the evening. Idols of goddess Durga are immersed in bodies of water.
Speaking about the event, Sri. Pradeep Todi, President of Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad said, “It was really special to have Mr. Sourav Gangly as our chief guest this year. We had made many special arrangements at Central Park ground to celebrate the victory of good over evil, besides burning the 50-feet-tall effigy of a strongly built Ravana, we also organized a separate fire show during the event.
Sri. Lalit Beriwala, Margdarshak of Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad said, “We celebrated our 10th year of Dussehra event which is also known as East India’s biggest event this time. As Vijaya Dashami marks the end of the annual Durga Puja festival, effigies of Ravan are burnt across the country to celebrate the victory of good over evil. We hired artists from various states to perform during the function. Apart from this, a series of rituals were also performed before the burning of the effigy where we had a crowd of more than 25,000 people.”
About Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad:
Salt Lake Sanskritik Sansad is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of the underprivileged section of society. We are taking facilities like education, health, and associated services to them through different activities like school, charitable dispensary, blood donation camp, book distribution program, marriage hall, etc.