Within Beddington Park in Wallington, a colossal effigy of Ravana, a demon king, stood up.
A crowd gathered around it buzzing with excitement, and waited patiently for the effigy to be set alight and burn down.
Fireworks started being propelled upwards, illuminating the sky whilst the demon got reduced to ashes.
To understand why this was being done, knowing the story of Sita’s abduction and return, explained in the Hindu epic the Ramayana, is crucial.
The story goes like this: Ravana disguises as a wounded deer to Sita in a forest and runs away, directing Rama - Sita’s husband who was a great prince - to find it, which leaves Sita vulnerable.
Ravana comes back and disguises as a beggar to lure Sita out of a circle which Rama drew to keep Sita protected, and Sita gets kidnapped.
Rama, with Hanuman - a half-monkey God - and his army, fights Ravana’s in the island of Lanka, and Rama ends up victorious in the battle, as he shoots Ravana with a special arrow.
So Ravana Dahan celebrates the defeat of Ravana as this is an important religious story in Hinduism.
It also reminds them of evil, which is symbolised by the effigy, being overcome by good, which is an inspiring message for many Hindus.
The fireworks that follow up are a symbol of celebration over the destruction of Ravana, as they ascend whilst Ravana is brought down.
Personally, the atmosphere felt very lively as people interacted with each other and a few chanted verses that showed support for Rama.
My sister, who also came along, talked to her friends who also came, and took plenty of pictures of the fireworks, commenting that they’re “the most beautiful fireworks [she’s] seen” and said that she liked the visual effect produced from the smoke of the effigy merging into the fireworks.
Everything - managing the large crowd, successfully lighting up the effigy, lighting up lots of fireworks of different colours - was executed flawlessly.
Furthermore, the experience was unique for me, as I would usually do the same thing every time when Diwali would come by - wave around sparklers and observe fireworks in the distance - whereas the Ravan Dahan event felt quite special.
If you haven’t already, I would strongly encourage you to go to the next Ravan Dahan, which is likely to take place next year, given the success of this year’s event.
