Ugadi

UgadiorYugadi, also known asSamvatsarādi(meaning "beginning of the year"), is New Year's Day according to theHindu calendarand is celebrated in theIndian statesofAndhra Pradesh,TelanganaandKarnataka.The cycle actually consists of 60 years, each year individually named. The first day of each year is called 'Ugadi'. The word Ugadi can be split into two: Uga means Course of Stars and Adi means Starting. It is festively observed in these regions on the first day of the Hindulunisolar calendarmonth ofChaitra.This typically falls in late March or early April of the Gregorian calendar.It also falls sometimes on the day after Amavasya with 27th Nakshatra Revati. Ugadi day is pivoted on the first New Moon afterMarch Equinox.
The day is observed by drawing colourful patterns on the floor calledMuggulu/ Rangoli, mango leaf decorations on doors calledtorana, buying and giving gifts such as new clothes, giving charity to the poor, oil massages followed by special baths, preparing and sharing a special food calledpachadi, and visiting Hindu temples.Thepachadiis a notable festive food that combines all flavors – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent andpiquant. In Telugu and Kannada Hindu traditions, it is a symbolic reminder that one must expect all flavors of experiences in the coming new year and make the most of them.Followers of the Souramana calendar system observe Ugadi in Karnataka, when the sun transits into theAriesConstellation, which is also the festival ofBaisakhi, and is locally known as Souramana Ugadi or Mesha Sankranti.
Ugadi has been an important and historic festival of the Hindus, with medieval texts and inscriptions recording major charitable donations to Hindu temples and community centers on this day.The same day is observed as a New Year by Hindus in many other parts of India, such asGudi PadwainMaharashtra,Goaand is a national public holiday inMauritius.
The name Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from theSanskritwordsyuga(age) andādi(beginning): "the beginning of a new age".Yugadi or Ugadi falls on "Chaitra Shudhdha Paadyami" or the first day of the bright half of the Indian month ofChaitra. This generally falls in late March or early April of the Gregorian calendar.
TheTelugu peopleuse the term Ugadi(ఉగాది)and theKannadigasuse the term Yugadi (ಯುಗಾದಿ) for this festival.
The Kannada, Telugu, Kodava and the Tulu diaspora inKarnataka,Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, andTamil Naducelebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are 'de rigueur'. The day begins early with ritual showers, rubbing the body with perfumed oil, followed by prayers.
Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough clean.People buy new clothes, including dhoti, and buy new items for the festival, decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves.Mango leaves and coconuts are considered auspicious in the Hindu tradition, and they are used on Ugadi. People also clean the front of their house with water and cow dung paste, then draw colorful floral designs.People offer prayers in temples. The celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment.According to Vasudha Narayanan, a professor of Religion at the University of Florida:
Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. InAndhra PradeshandTelangana, foods such as pulihora, bobbatlu (Bhakshalu/ polelu/ oligale), New Year Burelu and Pachadi, and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion. Of these,pachadi(orUgadi pacchadi) is the most notable, and consists of a chutney-like dish which combines ingredients to give all six flavours of food : sweet, sour, salty, spicy, bitter andastringent.This festive Hindu food is made from tamarind paste (sour), neem flowers (bitter), brown sugar or sweet jaggery (sweet), table salt (salt), green chilli (spicy) and raw mango (astringent). It is a symbolic reminder of complex phases of life one should reasonably expect in the new year.
InKarnataka, foods such as Holige or Obattu, and mango pickles are made. In addition, a speciality of yugadi in Karnataka is to create "bEvu-bella" a mixture of neem and jaggery, to signify both the sweet and the bitter or the sihi-kahi(ಸಿಹಿ-ಕಹಿ). This symbolizes life's own experiences with a little bit of bitterness and a hint of sweetness.
MaharashtranHindus refer to the festival, observed on the same day, asGudi Padwa(Marathi:गुढी पाडवा).TheSindhiscelebrate the same day asCheti Chand, which is the beginning of their calendar year.Manipurisalso celebrate their New Year asSajibu Nongma Panbaon the same day.
The Hindus ofBaliinIndonesiaalso celebrate their new year on the same day asNyepi.Ugadi is one of the five Hindu national public holidays inMauritius.