Ugadi is the New Year's Day for the people of the Telugu,and Kannada communities. This holiday is one of the most auspicious days for Telugus and Kannadigas. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March–April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the new year. Chaitra is the first month in Panchanga which is the Indian calendar. In some parts of India it is known as Vikram Samvat or Bhartiya Nav Varsh. This holiday is mostly prevalent in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Gudi Padwa, which is the Marathi new year, is also celebrated on the same day.
Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough wash. Shopping for new clothes and buying other items that go with the requirements of the festival are done with a lot of excitement.
On Ugadi Day, people wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath after which they 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. This is a common sight in every household. People perform the ritualistic worship to God invoking his blessings before they start off with the new year. They pray for their health, wealth and prosperity and success in business too.Ugadi is also the most auspicious time to start new ventures.
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) and Pachadi" and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion.
Ugadi pachchadi is a dish synonymous with Ugadi. It is made of new jaggery, raw mango pieces, neem flowers, and new tamarind which truly reflect life — a combination of six different tastes (sweet, sour, spice, salt, tangy, and bitter) symbolizing happiness, disgust, anger, fear, surprise, and sadness.
Ingredients and preparation as
below
Ingredients (Mandatory)
1 ½ cup water
2 tbsp. peeled and chopped raw
mango pieces
Few neem sprigs with flowers or
1 tbsp. flowers
Generous pinch salt or as needed
3 tbsp. Jaggery as needed
One generous pinch pepper powder
Tamarind as needed or 1 tsp
tamarind pulp
Ingredients (Optional)
fried gram
Cashews chopped
Raisins
Grapes chopped
Chunks of ripe banana
Preparation:
1. Wash tamarind and soak it in
½ cup warm water till it softens.
2. Meanwhile, pluck the flowers
from neem sprigs. Or alternate quick method: add the neem sprigs to a thin
cloth, bring the edges of the cloth together so that they don’t fall off from
the cloth. Hold the edges tightly and hit the cloth on to the kitchen counter
several times. Neem flower or petals get separated from the sprigs and fall of
in the cloth, collect them and set aside.
Add grated jaggery to another
one cup water, stir till it melts off. Filter it through a coffee strainer to
another bowl, filter the tamarind pulp or water as well to the same bowl.
Add rest of the ingredients. Mix
well.
