The Epic                         The epic Ramayana binds all Indians from East to west & north to south  together in one string. is  Lord Rama( went to rescue his abducted wife Sita from the clutch of Ravana,(king of the demons) in Lanka. Before commencing  his battle with Ravana, Lord Rama prayed for  blessings of Devi Durga. Pleased with Rama’s prayer  &  devotion, Devi(Goddess) Durga appeared and blessed him. The battle started on the Maha-saptami  day and Ten headed Ravana was finally beheaded   on the sandhikshan i.e. the crossover period between ashtami and navami and was cremated on dashami. Since the period of this worship was different from the conventional festival time of spring, this puja is also known as akal-bodhan or worship (bodhan) in an unconventional(a-kal) time .
 Festivals                         Durga Puja is the biggest festival in West-Bengal. Part of this is also known as Dussehra in Northern India, Mysore  and Navaratri in western  parts of India. Durga is the Goddess of divine power against all evils.  The story goes that Mahisasur, the Demon, through years of praying, received blessing from Lord Brahma, that no power can destroy  him  as he was invincible by the said blessing. With such  power the asura(demon) started ravaging the entire humality & religion while finally desired to dethrone the God-Goddess.s too. According to a Puranic legend, the mighty demon Mahishasura defeated the gods and their king god  Indra.  Then all heavenly  God-Goddess, in dismay, appealed to Lord Bramha-Vishu_Maheswar &  contributed their powers & weaponry  to create a most  powerful & beautiful Goddess of shakti(Power) Devi Durga riding on a Lion and prayed to Devi Durga to come to their rescue. Every year She  descends  on  earth with her four children  Lord Ganesh( symbolizing Initiator), Goddess Lakhsmi (symbolizing wealth & rosperity), goddess Swarasati (symbolizing Knowledge) and Lord Kartikeya( Symbolizing Protector),  in the Indian Calendar month of  Aswin(sept-Oct) to  bring  peace Harmony and  togetherness amongst all.                                                                                                                                  Dussehra is a very big Indian  festival, which marks the defeat of Ravana by Lord Rama. The 'Ramlila' - an enactment of the life of Lord Rama, is held during the nine days preceding Dussehra. On this day in the famous Ramlila grounds in New Delhi, huge & spectacular effigies of the ten-headed demon king Ravana, his son Meghanath, & his brother Kumbhakarna,  stuffed with fireworks-crackers  are torched by an arrow to symbolize the ultimate triumph of good over evil. 
Similarly Navaratri is an amalgamation of various thoughts, with the common theme of the victory of good over evil. he tenth day is devoted to the worship of goddess Durga, who occupies a special position in the Hindu pantheon of gods and goddesses. She is 'Shakti', the cosmic energy that animates all beings. Beautiful idols of the Mother Goddess are worshipped in elaborate pandals for nine days, and on the ninth day, these are carried out in procession for immersion (viswarjan) in a river or pond. In Tamil Nadu, the first three days are dedicated to the worship of Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and prosperity, the next three days to Saraswati, Goddess of learning and arts and the last three days to Shakti (Durga).
                                Deepawali- Finally home coming of victorious  Lord Rama to illuminated the city of  Ayodhya   & his coronation as king.This  is celebrated as Deepawali(Festival of lights & Joy).   The legend claimed that it took 20 days for Rama to return to his kingdom after defeating Ravana. Part of Indians  on this day believe that Goddess Lakshmi emerged from the ocean of milk (Kheer Sagar). She brought with her wealth and prosperity for mankind.  In West Bengal the festival of Kali Puja worshiping Goddess Kali the Ultimate power Adya-Shakti The image of Goddess Kali usually shows her foot on Lord Shiva’s chest. Goddess Kali is worshipped as the Mother Goddess who protects from evil. She also epitomizes strength or ‘Shakti’ and the darker side of life. The actual puja takes place at midnight on the day of the new moon. Every households clean their houses and light up candles all over their houses. Children and adults set off firecrackers from evening to midnight (like Guy Fox day or Fouth of July in US) Goddess Kali has always enjoyed a significant presence in our culture. She appears in various forms as an embodiment of Shakti, the eternal energy and cosmic power. She is also believed to be the eternal cosmic strength that destroys all existence. Her facial expressions depict the extent of her powers of destruction. The heads she holds in her hand instantly arouses mortal-fear in everybody and her protruding tongue symbolizes the mockery of human ignorance. Mythology says that Shiva and Kali are the originating couple of the universe but Kali even mocks Shiva, as if she herself is the unique source of everything. There are several other Avtars of Kali also. One such is a striking contrast is Kali represented as the Benevolent Mother where she is the personification of Eternal Night of Peace.