Jharkhand: Ranchi’s Durga Bari Keeps Alive 100-Year-Old Vijayadashmi Tradition

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India]: Women bid farewell to Goddess Durga with a ritual known as ‘Sindoor Khela’ on the occasion of Vijayadashami on Tuesday at Ranchi’s Durga Bari temple.

The temple has a history of celebrating the Durga Puja festival for over a century.
Vijayadashmi marks the end of the five-day festivities of Durga Puja.

People gathered at the temple since early this morning to participate in rituals and women participated in the Sindoor khela- a practise where married women smear each other with sindur or vermillion and pray for the long lives of their husbands.

“Today we play ‘Sindoor Khela’, bid farewell to Maa Durga, and enjoy time with friends and family. The ‘Sindoor Khela’ is played so that Maa Durga can make everyone lucky, come again and continue to bless us like this,” Shweta, a devotee, told media.

Also known as the ‘vermillion game’, the Sindoor Khela is typically celebrated by Bengali Hindu women. Traditionally, this ritual is intended for married women who are expected to follow a defined custom and procedure when taking part in Sindoor Khela in the belief that it will bring them good luck and a long life for their husbands.

Applying sindoor is important for all married women and on this occasion, they embrace that by celebrating ‘sindoor khela’. On this occasion, married women apply ‘sindoor’ to each other’s faces.

Devotees ensure that ‘Maa Durga’ is bid a grand adieu on the day which is said to mark her return to her husband Lord Shiva’s home after spending four days with her parents on Earth. They apply vermillion on the Goddess forehead and feet and offer her betel leaves and sweets.

‘Dussehra’ or ‘Vijayadashmi’ also starts the preparations for Deepavali, the important festival of lights, which is celebrated 20 days after Vijayadashami.