Happy Ugadi Rangoli

SPONSORED LINKS

Yugadi (Kannada: ಯುಗಾದಿ, Telugu: ఉగాది) from yuga + aadi, yuga means era, aadi means start. The start of an era) is the new year's day for the people of the Deccan region of India. While the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Yugadi/Ugadhi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa. Sindhis, people from Sindh, celebrate the same day as their New Year day Cheti Chand.^[1]

It falls on a different day every year because the Indian calendar is a lunisolar calendar. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March/April) and Yugadi marks the first day of the new year.

As usual in India the Festivals are incomplete without Rangoli Designs. With Chittara Wishing all our reader a Happy Ugadi, Happy New Year. We would like to present you the Ugadi Rangoli.

Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit. It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the new year. Traditionally, the panchangasravanam or listening to the yearly calendar was done at the temples or at the Town square but with the onset of modern technology, one can get to hear the priest-scholar on television sets right in one's living room.

The Kannada and Telugu people celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are 'de rigueur'. The day, however, begins with ritual showers (oil bath) followed by prayers, and then the eating of a specific mixture of -

• Neem Buds/Flowers for bitterness
• Raw Mango for tang
• Tamarind Juice for sourness
• Green Chilli/Pepper for heat
• Jaggery and ripe banana pieces for sweetness
• Pinch of Salt for saltiness

This mixture called prasadam symbolises that life will offer you both bitterness as well as sweet. You should take both equally.