Ugadi is a Hindu New Year festival celebrated with great pomp in the southern region of India as well as in other provinces of the country. Especially in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, it is celebrated every year in the month of March. People are eager for this great festival of the year, and as these festivals come closer, the people of the state swell in excitement and happiness.
It also marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar in India and is celebrated on the first day of the Hindu lunar month Chaitra (March–April). This year Ugadi will be celebrated on 21st March 2023 and it will end on 22nd March 2023.
So, it is not only a new year festival of Hindu tradition, but people from all religions/sections of this country participate in this festival and celebrate together.
Ugadi Panchangam
Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (the first day of the bright fortnight of Hindu Chaitra month) is celebrated according to the Ugadi Panchang. The 2nd-day Sun is looking at Pratipada, and the first day will be considered for the celebration. If the Pratipada pilgrimage does not take place on any sunrise day, then it will be considered the day from which the Tithi begins. The day of the Ugadi in Sanskrit is called Chaitra Shuddhi Padma.
King of the new era
The lord of the first day of the new year is considered the lord of the whole year. In 2023, the 22nd day is Wednesday, and the lord of Wednesday is Lord Mercury. Therefore, the god of this new year is Mercury.
Ugadi Celebration
This year Ugadi will be celebrated on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The preparations for Ugadi start a week in advance. People clean and repair their homes, buy new clothes and other essential items for the festival. People bathe before sunrise and decorate the entrance and windows with mango leaves.
About Mango Leaves:
According to our scriptures, Kartikeya and Ganesh, the sons of Shiva-Parvati, were very fond of mangoes. Karthikeya urged people to tie mango leaves to the doors of their homes to welcome prosperity and a good harvest.
After spraying the area with cow dung mixed water, people also make Rangoli in front of their houses. The new year begins by worshipping the deities with their blessings. People worship the gods according to their convenience.
People from various regions of the plateau of South India celebrate Ugadi with great enthusiasm. Relatives gather at a grand feast. The festival begins with an oil bath in the morning.
Delicious Ugadi foods
Some people get food of 6 different tastes on this day. With six flavours, they believe that life is a mixture of mixed emotions, and each feeling is like a taste. A famous dish for this special day is called Ugadi Pachadi. It includes all six flavours. Although this recipe differs from region to region, the most common ingredients are given below:
The flavour of the ingredient is as follows:
- Neem bud/flower bitter sadness
- Jaggery / Khushi
- Green Chili / Hot Chili
- Salty snacks
- Tamarind Juice Sour Solution
In Karnataka, this humility of the people is in the form of Beu Bella. Ugadi Pachadi is the sacred food eaten on this day. It is the first thing that people eat to celebrate this festival. In some places, people take neem leaves with jaggery.
Ugadi Special
Many other dishes are prepared on this day; These are Obbattu / Hogle / Puran Poli etc. The bread is filled with gram and sugar/jaggery paste. And the top is covered with clarified butter, and some of them use traditional coconut milk.
Kavi Sammelan is also organized in some places. Some experts do Ashtadhatu, Shatavadhanam and Sahasravadhanam during this event. In this, one must remember the problematic verses presented by 100 experts of literature; And the order of the poems must be correct. One has to recite all the verses poetically.
Ugadi Celebration in other regions
People of Karnataka, Maharashtra and the Konkani community call this festival Yugadi. Telugu people know it as both Ugadi or Yugadi, it depends on their part and community. In Maharashtra, most people refer to this day as Gudi Padwa.
Many names know the Ugadi festival in different regions of India. Some of them are given below:
- Conveyancer Padwo between Konkani in Goa and Kerala
- The people of Konkan in Karnataka know it as ‘Yugadi’.
- ‘Ugadi’ in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
- ‘Gudi Padwa’ in Maharashtra
- ‘Thapna’ in Rajasthan
- ‘Navy’ in Kashmir
- Sajibu Nongma ‘Panba’ or Meaty Chiroba in Manipur
For North Indians, ‘Chaitra Navratri’ begins on this day.
Note: If anyone wants to add more about Ugadi as well as if some places need corrections then please comment.
