Processing .....please wait.. 
The article has been forwarded.... 
NJ celebrates Dussehra in high spirits
By siliconindia
|
Thursday, 21 October 2010, 12:52 IST
New Jersey: Dussehra, celebration symbolic of the victory of Lord Rama over demon king Ravana, was celebrated with high spirits at Lake Papaianni Park in Edison, New Jersey, reports Bhargavi Kulkarni for Desi Talk.
The 12th annual Dussehra celebrations organized by Indo American Festivals by attended by about 20,000 and included cultural programs, music and dancing, Ramleela, food stalls a health camp, fair and fireworks. The festival attracts many kids as they are eager to watch the Ravan dahan in the midst of thousands cheering and enjoying and the sky was filling with bursts of red, blue and pink as the effigies of Ravana, his brother Kumbhkarana and son Meghnad burn to flame.
"For the children, it is fantastic. The theme is that evil is always defeated in the end. It gives the message that you should always try to be good. That is the message that children learn. Ravana dies in the end." said Mangal Gupta, Founder and Chairman of the festival. Gupta said he was inspired to start the festival when he learnt that many Hindus living in America had never been to a Dussehra festival and their children had never even heard of it.
The festival opened with the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony that was followed by a cultural program presented by students of various dance schools in the tristate area. It was inaugurated by former New Jersey Gov. Christine Whitman who inaugurated the first Dussehra festival in 1999 too and was the event also had N.J. Assembly woman Linda Greenstein and prominent members of the Indian-American community. Dr. Pankaj Naram, a noted ayurvedic physician, was honored at the event for treating first responders and survivors of the 9/11 attack for trauma and resulting conditions from inhaling toxic gases and fumes in and around Ground Zero.
The Ramleela ended with the coronation of Lord Rama and Sita and was followed by a procession to the other side of the park where the effigies awaited their destruction. The 25-feet-tall effigies were made in India and imported.