Dusherra Festival

This evening we took a walk up Calton Hill where a festival run by the Scottish Indian Arts Forum was taking place.  It was a collaboration of Indian and Scottish music and dance, with stalls selling Indian delicacies from local restaurants.  After dark, there is to be a fireworks display and the burning of these huge Demon effigies (which, since 2007 have been constructed by prisoners from Saughton Prison).  Dusherra is one of the largest festivals in India which commemorates a 10-day war between the Gods and the Demons thousands of years ago.  The celebration is for the victory of good over evil.  At this particular event, there was a separate children's marquee where children understand different cultures and diversity by engaging in activities together.  We stayed a while at this extremely well organised event which has attracted so many people but most of all, it brings all walks of life together and helps us learn about other cultures which exist in our local community.