Ashwin (Sep–Oct)
Dushehra Festival
A grand four-day event: a tractor procession, the Ramayan performance, historical plays and film adaptations.
Preparing for Dushehra
Dushehra is not just an event on stage; it is a joint effort of the whole village. Committee members plan it in meetings, women sing songs to the dholak, villagers build the stage together, and the performers get ready with costumes and make-up. Then the procession winds through the village lanes, and at night plays are staged, drawing large audiences.
Programmes of past years
2026
Shri Geet Srivastava Ji passed away on 13 August 2026, so this year a limited Dushehra programme was held in his memory, with no film adaptations staged.
2019
- 8 October: grand procession and the slaying of Ravan
- 9 October: play, Chhatrapati Shivaji
- 10 October: play, Shool
2014
- 3 October: grand procession
- 4 October: Ashwatthama (a short historical play) and Ande Ke Chhilke (a short comedy)
- 5 October: Sarfarosh (film adaptation)
- 6 October: Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra (religious play)
In both these years the venue was Ira Gyan Sarovar Montessori School, Sataon.
Programme
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Procession
A grand procession with tableaux decorated on many tractors, which draws crowds from the whole area.
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Ramayan performance
A live stage performance of the story from Sita's garden to the slaying of Ravan.
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Historical plays
Tales of heroes such as Shivaji, Prithviraj Chauhan and Amar Singh Rathore.
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Film adaptations
From Baahubali to Mughal-e-Azam, famous films adapted for the stage.
Documentary
Watch the story of Sataon's Dushehra in this 40-minute documentary by Bhakt Prem Mandal: the temple, the inscriptions, old photos of our ancestors, committee meetings, women's dholak songs, stage preparations, the procession, the plays and conversations with villagers.
Filmed, edited and directed by Sharmishtha Srivastava
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