Ugadi Festival – 2010.

The Telugu New Year will commence in five days from today that is from next Tuesday, 16th March. All Telugu festivals (except ‘Sankranti’) are celebrated according to the lunar calendar and hence the Telugu New Year’s Day does not match with the western solar calendar - a fixed date. The Telugu New Year would commence from the next day after the new moon in March or April every year.

The Telugu New Year’s first day is celebrated as Ugadi Festival. Ugadi in Sanskrit is Yugadi (Yuga+Adi). Yuga means Era and Adi means New, so Yugadi or Ugadi festival is the celebration of the New Year. 15th March is the last new moon day (Amavasya) of the current year and the next day 16th March is the first lunar day – Shukla Padyami of the first Telugu lunar month Chaitra Masam.

Every Telugu Year has a name, there are sixty such names in a chronological order. At the end of sixty years the names would be repeated once again. The name of the current year is Virodhi Nama Samvatsaram and the ensuing New Year is Vikruti Nama Samvatsaram.

In short, Ugadi Festival which is celebrated on Shukla Padyami of Chaitra Masam is on 16th March this year. And the name of the New Year is Vikruti Nama Samvatsaram.

The festival is celebrated with great fanfare. Ugadi greetings are exchanged with all near and dear ones. Prayers are offered to the deities at home and blessings are sought for a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Kankanam/Talisman is tied on to the right wrist of every member. Wheat grains placed in front of the deities are picked up in a small quantity by every family member using just three fingers to foresee how the year ahead is going to be for them. If an even number (Sarri) of grains is picked up, the year is going to be normal and if an odd number (Baesh) of grains are picked it will be an excellent year. Then Ugadhi Pachhadi a unique drink placed as Naivedhyam at the deities is consumed. Ugadhi Pachhadi is prepared using water, Jaggery, Tamarind, raw Mango, Neem flowers, Salt, Oma/Tymol seeds, dry Coconut, dry fruits – Cashew and Sara palukulu/Chironji. Ugadi Pachhadi has Shadhruchulu - meaning six different tastes that are sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, hot and saltish.  This tasty drink which in some houses is prepared as chutney is a symbolic reminder of the myriad facets of life one would be facing in the year ahead. Later, the festive lunch is a sumptuous one with some traditional items like Polelu/Bobbatlu. People also visit a Temple in the neighborhood to seek blessings for a very good year. Either at the Temple or on TV one also listens to Panchanga Shravanam that is listening to the predictions for the year from the Telugu religious almanac which covers all people, occupations, weather, agriculture, calamities and so on.

New Year commences on the same day for Karnataka and Maharashtra States as well. It is celebrated with almost the same rituals and fanfare in Karnataka as Ugadi and in Maharashtra as Gudi Padwa.