EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, October 8, 2006: Edinburgh saw the biggest-ever celebration of Dussehra in a spectacular parade through the city center. More than 2,500 people were expected to congregate on Calton Hill for the culmination of the festival, which featured a fireworks display and the burning of three giant effigies. Mohindra Dhall, president of the Scottish Indian Arts Forum, which is organizing the eighth annual parade in the capital, said the festival was the most important public celebration of the Hindu religion. “I expect this year to be the biggest event we’ve held. Every year the numbers increase, from the first year when we began with about 50 to 60 mainly Indian children to the 2,500 who attended last year.” In Edinburgh, for the first time this year the 40-ft model of the evil king Ravana and two 20-ft models of his henchmen were made by around 20 prisoners at Edinburgh’s Saughton Prison. The organizers turned to the prison after a funding shortfall left them unable to order effigies from Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop as they had done in previous years. Mr. Dhall said, “The governor of Saughton Prison took up the challenge and gave us a lot of support. We used to spend around US$9,000 getting them made, but this year they were made for free by prisoners, overseen by the Sculpture Workshop. They have done a fantastic job.” Dignitaries attending Edinburgh’s Dussehra festival will include Lord Provost Lesley Hinds and Indian Consul General Parampreet Singh Randhawa.
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