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Ugadi is known as the New Year or Yugadi
Ugadi is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
It falls in the month of Chaitra according to the Hindu calendar.
Significance
Ugadi is the beginning of a New Year according to the lunar Hindu calendar. This a day when all the mantras are chanted and there are new predictions made for that New Year. The words Yugadi is explained as 'Yuga 'means era or epoch and 'aadi' means a new beginning. Yugadi is related to the start of the era where we are living now that is the Kali Yuga. This Yuga started as soon as Lord Krishna had left the world.
This festival is celebrated as the New Year for the people who stay between the rivers Vindhyas and Kaveri, these people follows the south Indian lunar calendar. In this calendar the dates are based on the Shalivahana year, in this year the counts begins from the date when they found his empire, the empire was a legendary hero Shalivahana.
According to the terminology that is used in this calendar, Yugadi comes in the month of Chaitra as per the Hindu calendar or on the first day of the bright half of the same month. This falls in the month of March or April as per the Gregorian calendar.
Ugadi depends on the lunar calculation of the 12th century. This starts from the first new moon when the sun crosses the equator from south to north. But the Indians celebrate this festival from the next morning as the Indian day starts from sunrise.
Celebration of Ugadi
For celebrating this festival people starts preparing one week ahead. Houses are cleaned and washed thoroughly. People do shopping; they buy new clothes and other items that are required for the festival. People prepare for this festival with great pomp and gaiety. There is a lot of excitement among the people for this festival. Most of the people buy gifts. They buy silk sarees, dhotis and even sweets like putarekulu.
On this suspicious day people get up early on the morning, before having bath they apply coconut oil on the whole body and then take a head bath. After taking bath they wear new clothes and visit temple which is nearby and offer prayers to God. The priests forecast the future of the year and guide the people for the coming situation. On this day people visit their relatives homes and wish them good luck and prosperous new year. They exchange gifts with their relatives and friends.
Traditional food
People of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka celebrate this festival with enthusiasm and joy so they prepare for this festival one week before and the dishes that are prepared on this day are mouth water and tempting. In Andhra Pradesh people prepare a special dish called "Ugadi Pacchadi". It has sweet, salty, bitter and sour tastes. They put salt for salty taste, raw mango pieces and tamarind pulp for sour taste and jaggery, banana pieces, sugar cane pieces and neem flowers for bitter taste. It is believed that through out the year one experiences various aspects in life like various tastes of this recipe.
Tradition food prepared is Ariselu, avial payasam, bisi bele bhath, boondi curry, chana usal and choco coconut ladoos.
This festival is regarded as very important and auspicious for the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as it is the first day of the new year.
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