Mumbaikars rightfully started this festive season with fasting and dancing during Navratri and will end it with delicacies like shrikhand-puri, jalebi-puri and basundi-puri too. This is incomplete without giving each other ‘sona’. It is followed by watching the burning of the Ravana effigy
Dussehra will be celebrated today on October 5 and is marked by burning the effigy of demon king Ravana in many parts of India. Image for representational purpose only. Photo Courtesy: istock
For Veena Vikas Bandekar, this Dussehra is going to be different because she will be celebrating it after two years, not only because of the Covid-19 pandemic but also because her husband passed away in 2021. Having brought in the festival every year for the last 28 years as a ritual with her in-laws, the Ghatkopar resident is excited to bring in the festival like many other Mumbaikars after the brief hiatus. While her extended family are no more, the 55-year-old is bringing in the festival this time with her son. “I will be making shrikhand-puri to eat in the morning like we always do, it will be followed by dal bhat, and some kind of bhaji to name a few dishes. We will also be worshipping Goddess Saraswati on Dussehra,” says Bandekar.