Dussehra is a ten day festival beginning on the first day of the month of Asvina (September-October). This festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil and is celebrated in various, extraordinarily festival forms. In Bengal, for example Dussehra is celebrated concurrently with Navaratra (Durga Puja) to honor Goddess Durga for her victory over the demons. The final celebration (on the tenth day of Dussehra) is the culmination of Navaratri.

In the most of North India, Dussehra celebrated Rama's victory over the demon-king Ravana, as described in the Hindu epic Ramayana. During the ten days of the festivities every city and village in North India enacts the story of Rama's life as told in Ramayana. The festival ends on the tenth day of the month of Asvina, when huge effigies of Ravana are carried to an open space and burnt to symbolize the defeat of Ravana. The effigies are usually stuffed with firecrackers that explode to the cheers of huge crowd.

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