HAPPY UGADI 2017

HAPPY UGADI

It is believed that the creator of the Hindu pantheon Lord Brahma started creation on this day - Chaitra suddha padhyami or the Ugadi day. Also the great Indian Mathematician Bhaskaracharya's calculations proclaimed the Ugadi day from the sunrise on as the beginning of the new year, new month and new day. The onset of spring also marks a beginning of new life with plants (barren until now) acquiring new life, shoots and leaves. Spring is considered the first season of the year hence also heralding a new year and a new beginning. The vibrancy of life and verdent fields, meadows full of colorful blossoms signifies growth, prosperity and well-being.

UGADI PACHCHADI 

It is a season for raw mangoes spreading its aroma in the air and the fully blossomed neem tree that makes the air healthy. Also, jaggery made with fresh crop of sugarcane adds a renewed flavor to the typical dishes associated with Ugadi. Ugadi pachchadi is one such dish that has become synonymous with Ugadi. It is made of new jaggery, raw mango pieces and neem flowers and new tamarind which truly reflect life - a combination of sweet, sour and bitter tastes!

Ugadi is celebrated with festive fervor in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. While it is called Ugadi in A.P. and Karnataka, in Maharashtra it is known as "Gudipadava".

KAVI SAMMELANAM

Some find a different way of celebrating the festival. Kavi Sammelanam (poetry recitation) is a typical Telugu Ugadi feature. Ugadi is also a time when people look forward to a literary feast in the form of Kavi Sammelanam. Many poets come up with new poems written on subjects ranging - from Ugadi - to politics to modern trends and lifestyles. 

Practices

The Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Kodava, Tulu and the Konkani diaspora in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are 'de rigueur'. The day begins 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 wash. People buy new clothes and items for the festival, decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves. The significance of tying mango leaves relates to a legend. It is said that Kartik (or Subramanya or Kumara Swamy) and Ganesha, the two sons of Lord Siva and Parvathi were very fond of mangoes. As the legend goes Kartik exhorted people to tie green mango leaves to the doorway signifying a good crop and general well-being.

It is noteworthy that we use mango leaves and coconuts (as in a Kalasam, to initiate any pooja) only on auspicious occasions to propitiate gods. People also splash fresh cow dung water on the ground in front of their house and draw colorful floral designs.^[2] People offer prayer in temples. The celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment. Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, eatables such as "pulihora, bobbatlu (Bhakshalu/ polelu/ oligalu), New Year Burelu and Pachadi" and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion. In Karnataka too, similar preparations are made but called "puliogure" and "holige".

Special dishes

Bobbattu or Bhakshalu/Holigey -prepared on Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a special dish called Bobbattu (Polelu) (Puran Poli) (Oliga) are prepared on this occasion. This special dish is called Bhakshalu in Telangana. These are eaten along with the Ugadi Pachchadi mentioned earlier. In Karnataka a special dish called Obbattu, or Holige (ಹೋಳಿಗೆ / ಒಬ್ಬಟ್ಟು), is prepared. It consists of a filling (gram and jaggery/sugar boiled and made in to a paste) stuffed in a flat roti-like bread. It is usually eaten hot or cold with ghee or milk topping or coconut milk at some places of Karnataka.

Greetings

In Telugu, the greeting is "kroththa yeta" / "ugadi panduga" palukarimpulu, or "ugadi subhaakankshalu" - "క్రొత్త ఏట" / "ఉగాది పండుగ" పలుకరింపులు, లేదా ఉగాది శుభాకాంక్షలు (Greetings for the festival of ugadi) and "Nutana samvastara shubhaakankshalu" -నూతన సంవత్సర శుభాకాంక్షలు (Greetings on the new year).
In Kannada, the greeting is "Yugadi Habbada Shubhaashayagalu" - ಯುಗಾದಿ ಹಬ್ಬದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು (Greetings for the festival of Yugadi) or "Hosa varshada shubhashayagalu" - ಹೊಸ ವರ್ಷದ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು (Greetings on the new year).