The festival of Dussehra fair was celebrated in Tamkuhi Raj with the burning of the effigy of Ravana.
At present, there is neither a king nor a pauper, the joy of Dussehra has faded, the changing environment has made the friendship between the king and the pauper a royal one.
The Nagar Panchayat President and the successor of the late king organised the worship of Goddess Durga and a cultural programme. On the day of Dussehra, the effigy of Ravana was burnt in the Ramlila ground.
Krishna Yadav, Tamkuhiraj/Kushinagar. The traditional Dussehra fair was celebrated with great pomp and show on the historic land of Tamkuhi Raj, Kushinagar district. The late King Fateh Bahadur Shahi was a great devotee of Goddess Durga, who fought the British for 13 years and defeated them. With the blessings of Mother Goddess, King Fateh Bahadur Shahi of Tamkuhi did not bow before the British.
After his death in his royal court, his successor in today’s era, Raja Maheshwar Pratap Shahi, following the works done by the king, installed the idol of Mata Rani at the ancient Shiva temple in his royal court and celebrated Dussehra festival in the sweet time of cordial devotion by conducting puja recitation for 9 days and organizing a bhandara program with the help of the present Nagar Panchayat President JP Gupta. On the occasion of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on 2nd October, the conclusion of Dussehra was celebrated by organizing Dussehra fair.
On this occasion, the effigy of Ravana was taken out from the royal court with elephants, horses and musical instruments and decorated with the effigy of Maha Pandit Ravana and taken out for a round of the entire city under the leadership of Raja Maheshwar Pratap Shahi and the effigy of Ravana was burnt in the Ramlila ground established by Raja Fateh Bahadur Shahi. Before this, Raja Maheshwar Pratap Shahi inaugurated the Dussehra fair by flying the blue bird. This traditional fair has been going on for centuries but the celebration of Dussehra fair which was seen during the time of Raja Saheb is not seen much.
The king’s kingdom was established in 14 Kos. Poor labourers from far off places of the king’s kingdom used to come to see the king’s elephant ride and the tradition of the blue bird flying. That beautiful and grand sight is no more. Neither the king is there nor is he poor nor is he angry, but the king’s descendants, following this tradition, have been celebrating the Dussehra fair even today by burning the effigy of Ravana and flying the blue bird on the occasion of Dussehra fair.
On this occasion, a grand event was presented by artists dressed as elephants, horses, Hanuman, Shri Ram, Sita, etc. On this occasion, senior journalist Om Prakash Singh led the festival procession, following this tradition. On this occasion, Nagar Panchayat President JP Gupta, all the councilors, Nagar Panchayat employees and sanitation workers, and all the devotees from the city were present.
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