The week-long famous Dussehra festival of Kullu began on Thursday with a traditional Rath Yatra (Chariot procession) of Lord Raghunath temple at Dhalpur ground of Kullu.
Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, Chief Guest of the inaugural day function, joined a large crowd in pulling the strings of the Rath, driven from its temple to Dhalpur ground .
More than one hundred deities carried in palanquins by their devotees remained present during the Rath Yatra.
Nearly three hundred deities along with their devotees and drummers have been invited for the festival this year and most of these have already camped at Dhalpur ground.
The festival has an old history as it is being celebrated every year for the past 365 years since the year 1680, when erstwhile ruler of Kullu Jagat Singh shifted his capital from Nirmand to Sultanpur (Kullu) and established a sculpture of Lord Raghunath brought from Ayodhya to seek pardon for his sins, as per a saying.
The festival is considered as one of the biggest congregations of deities of the region. A large number of locals, tourists and foreign visitors participate in Dussehra festival year.
The celebration this year has been kept at low key due to devastation caused by monsoon rain in the Kullu and Mandi district this season. Several roads are still blocked and traffic on Chandigarh – Manali National Highway started a few days back after remaining blocked for several days.
The Dussehra organizing committee has decided not to invite playback singers from Mumbai and troupes of international folk dancers to reduce expenditure on evening cultural programmes and spend funds on restoration work in the district.
