DELHI: Sport, it seems, is no match for religion in India. Crowds were thin at many Commonwealth Games events but amateur performances of an ancient story that takes nine nights to tell brought out tens of thousands in the capital.
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They gathered to watch giant effigies of Ravana, a demon king immortalised in the Hindu epic Ramayana, set ablaze for Dussehra, a festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil.
The burning of Ravana, along with his brother and son, is the traditional climax to nine-night plays of the Ramlila - the story of Lord Ram - staged by community groups across India.
Before the effigies explode, actors portray the dramatic battle scene of the Ramayana when Rama shoots the evil Ravana with an arrow.
In about a fortnight this will be followed by the fireworks and gift-giving of Diwali, which marks the triumphant homecoming of Ram.
Boisterous crowds occasionally clashed with stick-wielding guards as they jostled for a place at one of the three big Ramlilas staged under the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Old Delhi.
Thousands have turned up to each night of the epic play, despite competition from the Commonwealth Games.
For the climax on Sunday, up to 10,000 packed into each enclosure to cheer as 30-metre effigies of the 10-headed Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad, went up in a deafening roar of fire crackers and flames.
''I always learn a lot from watching,'' said Rajendra Kumar, 52, a motorbike mechanic who attended each day of this year's Ramlila. ''It's a reminder to always adopt goodness not evil.''
Another spectator, Rajneesh Kapur, had brought along his two sons to experience the spirit of Dussehra.
''It's like life,'' he said. ''Truth will prevail over evil. The truth will come out, you can't hide it. If you try, it will make you weak as a person.''
The organisers of Lav Kush Ramlila at the Red Fort said a webcast of this year's performance attracted more than 700,000 viewers.
A host of Indian political leaders including the President, Pratibha Patil, and the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, attended Ramlilas in Delhi.
They fired symbolic arrows before Ravana and his family were reduced to smouldering ashes.
Meanwhile, thousands of religious processions followed statues of the multi-armed goddess Durga to be immersed in Delhi's Yamuna River as part of a separate but related Hindu festival called Durga Puja. This tradition, especially popular in eastern India, is also performed on Dussehra.
