Ugadi

Ugadi, Hindu festival celebrating the new year in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka. In Maharashtra and Goa states it is known as Gudi Padwa. Ugadi is celebrated on the first day of the Hindu month of Chaitra (March–April) following the South Indian Amavasyant calendar, in which months end on the day of the new moon. The new year marks the beginning of the calendar cycle as well as the start of spring and the planting season. The correspondence of the holiday with the waxing moon in the first month of the Hindu year symbolizes growth.

In ancient Sanskrit sources this new year holiday is known as Vatsararambha (start of the year) or Chaitra Shukla Pratipada (first day of the bright lunar fortnight of Chaitra). In Telugu- and Kannada-speaking regions, the name Ugadi comes from the Sanskrit words yuga, meaning “era,” and adi, meaning “beginning.” According to some Hindu texts, Ugadi marks the god Brahma’s creation of the universe.

Ugadi is a joyful holiday, and celebrants begin the day by bathing, applying oil to the body, putting on new clothes, and offering puja. Hindu women also draw intricate geometric designs, called rangoli, in front of the home. Also important is attending a temple to hear a recitation of the astrological almanac for the coming year (panchanga sravanam).

Ugadi’s culinary centerpiece is ugadi pachadi, a special kind of chutney. The mixture typically consists of tamarind, neem flowers, jaggery, salt, chili pepper, and raw mango. The combination of flavors symbolizes the variety of emotions one might experience in the coming year: tamarind is sour, neem is bitter, jaggery is sweet, mango is tangy, and chili is fiery or angry. A common belief is that your year will be bitter if you taste more neem in a bite of ugadi pachadi, while it will be sweet if your portion has more jaggery. In Karnataka state, ugadi pachadi is called bevu-bella, meaning “neem-jaggery.”

In Maharashtra and Goa states, the new year festival on the same date as Ugadi is called Gudi Padwa and has its own characteristic observance. The name combines the Marathi words padwa, meaning the first day of the lunar half-month, with gudi, meaning “flag.” On this day celebrants create a flag by attaching a scarf or cloth to the top of a long stick. A pot (kalash) is placed upside down atop the stick, and the ensemble is bedecked with neem and mango leaves and a garland of flowers. The flag is placed outside the home and is said to symbolize victory, welcome fortune, and ward off evil. Pujas are offered as part of the observance.

In other regions of India, the same day per the lunar calendar marks the beginning of Vasanta Navratri, or Chaitra Navratri, the spring version of the nine nights of Navratri—which is more popularly celebrated in the autumn as Sharad Navratri—during which the goddess Durga in nine forms is worshipped. The ninth day of Vasanta Navratri is celebrated as Ram Navami (ninth of Ram), the birth date of the god Rama.