Overview
- Large public Ravana Dahan ceremonies took place in multiple cities, with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel igniting effigies in Ahmedabad and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav attending a 105-foot effigy burning in Bhopal.
- These high-profile events combined cultural performances, processions and fireworks and were organized by civic trusts and municipal bodies that drew elected officials and large crowds.
- Some communities maintained alternative Dussehra practices that reject effigy burning, notably Bisrakh in Greater Noida where residents perform daily worship and special prayers for Ravana instead of consigning his effigy to flames.
- Other localized observances include Kanpur’s Dashanan Temple, which opens only on Vijayadashami, and Vidisha’s Ravan village, where rituals, Ramayana recitations and community feasts replace effigy burnings.
- Social media attention is bringing more visitors to these contrasting sites, which highlights how the festival functions both as a public civic ritual and as a marker of regional identity and religious memory.