India, Oct. 25 -- India's civilisational inheritance reveals itself most vividly in its festivals. They are not merely occasions for ritual, merriment or communal celebration; they are repositories of memory, expressions of collective identity, and reminders of moral truths that a society must continually rediscover. Few festivals illustrate this better than Dussehra, which, under different names and through strikingly different traditions, celebrates two triumphs: the victory of Goddess Durga over Mahishasura in Bengal, and the victory of Rama over Ravana across much of northern India.

The difference is not merely one of mythology. It extends to food, fasting, worship, ritual and the very atmosphere of celebration. In Bengal, Durga Puja...