Thousands heading to city's Hindu celebration

Horse-drawn chariots, giant puppets and live music will add to the spectacular parade through the city centre, which has been compared to a Bollywood movie premiere.

Afterwards, more than 2500 people are expected to congregate on Calton Hill for the culmination of the festival, which will feature a fireworks display and the burning of three giant effigies.

Traditional Indian food, music and dancing will follow a mock battle between student actors dressed to represent good and evil.

The Lothian and Borders Police Band, the Royal Linlithgow Band, and the Stewart Melville College Band, will provide the music as the chariots and floats make their way from Festival Square to Calton Hill.

Mohindra Dhall, president of the Scottish Indian Arts Forum, which is organising the eighth annual parade in the Capital, said the festival was the most important public celebration of the Hindu religion.

He said: "Dusshera is the most important festival of the Hindu religion because it symbolises the triumph of good over evil.

"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 2500 who attended last year," he added.

Dusshera is a huge festival throughout India, where in Delhi alone around 1500 effigies - some of them 300 feet high - are set alight.

The festival is based on the story of the Ramayana, one of the great Hindu epics.

The story tells of how Lord Rama and his army try to rescue his wife, Sita, from the evil King Ravana. After a fierce battle, Ravana is beheaded and Sita is freed.

In Edinburgh, for the first time this year the 40ft model of the evil king Ravana and two 20ft models of his henchmen were made by around 20 prisoners at Edinburgh's Saughton Prison.

The organisers 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 5000 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 Dusshera festival will include Lord Provost Lesley Hinds and Indian Consul General Parampreet Singh Randhawa.

The provost said: "I am delighted to be able to join Edinburgh's Hindu community in this fantastic celebration of its culture.

"The evening's programme promises to be excellent entertainment for all the family and I encourage people to attend this cultural event."

Legend has it that anyone who picks up one of the bones from the effigies and keeps it in their home will then be protected from burglars.

The facts

The Dusshera celebrations get under way at Festival Square at 4.30pm.

• A procession will leave the square at 5.35pm, travelling via Princes Street to Calton Hill, where festivities start at 6.30pm.

• The giant effigies are expected to be burned around 6.45pm.

• There will be no formal road closures, but police will control traffic with officers on point duty on all roads on or leading to the parade route, to stop traffic while the parade goes past.