After nine nights comes the tenth day.
Vijayadashami. Dasara. Dussehra.
Across India, different stories and traditions meet on this day.
It is associated with victory — the triumph of good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and the Goddess over forces of disorder.
But in many South Indian homes, Vijayadashami also carries a gentler meaning.
It is a good day to begin.
Children may begin their first lessons.
A music student may return to the instrument.
Dance classes begin again.
Books closed for Saraswati Puja are opened.
Teachers are visited.
Something that has been postponed suddenly has an auspicious first day.
There is wisdom in creating a day specifically for beginnings.
Because most of us wait for the perfect moment.
We wait until we know enough.
Until conditions are right.
Until we are certain.
Tradition gives another answer:
Choose a good day.
Offer a prayer.
And begin.
Perhaps the new thing is large.
Perhaps it is simply returning to something you once loved.
Learning music again.
Teaching your child a language.
Starting a business.
Opening a book.
Wearing the silk saree that has been waiting for an occasion instead of saving it indefinitely.
A beginning doesn't have to announce itself loudly.
Sometimes it starts with opening a cupboard.
Taking something precious out.
And deciding that today is the day to use it.
As Navratri ends, the lamps will eventually be put away. Golu dolls will return to their boxes. Homes will settle back into their ordinary rhythms.
But hopefully something from the festival remains.
A prayer.
A visit.
A memory.
A new beginning.
From all of us at Shlokam, wishing you a beautiful Vijayadashami — and an auspicious beginning to whatever comes next.
Explore sarees for celebrations, traditions and the memories still to come at Shlokam.com.