Ugadi, a time for fresh beginning

The festival marks the onset of the New Year for people who follow the lunar calendar. Many of them also believe that Ugadi is the day Brahma created the world. To many rural communities, the day denotes the arrival of spring. 

People clean their homes and purchase new clothes. Maharashtrians make the Gudi, in which they hoist a bamboo stick, adorned in yellow and red cloth, with a kala sam on top. The swathed stick is adorned with marigolds and neem and mango leaves. They seek the blessings of Vishnu and Brahma on Gudi Padwa day. An oil bath is mandatory. 

The Kannadigas observe the festival with fervour. The bevu bella is a highlight of their ritual. Bevu bella is a paste made from jaggery and neem, and is offered to all. It signifies everything we undergo in life — a blend of sweet and bitter experiences. Many Kannadigas offer freshly harvested tamarind, raw mango plucked from a tree and fresh neem leaves and exchange these among one another, as it is a common practice for them to visit friends and family and greet them on the New Year. The Telugu speaking community also observes this day as Garba Ramaya na (Rama is said to be born on Navami after Ugadi). They read the puranas as they believe Kausalya (Rama’s mother) observed this ritual, when she was in her advanced stage of pregnancy. In many places the Ramayana is read or staged as a play. The reading of the panchanga (almanac) is a big feature of Ug adi celebrations among the Telugu-speaking people. They begin the prayers by recollecting the sorrow they underwent or the natural calamities they encountered and pray to Lord Venkateswara  to spare them of grief in the new year. Ugadi is said to usher in better spousal coordination and enhance sibling bonding. Many visit Tirupati as Ugadi is celebrated in a grand manner in the temple as well. 

Preparations begin a week in advance in the temple and on Tuesday (today), the day before the New Year, the Kovil Azhwar thiruman janam is done on a large scale. The temple is closed to devotees for a couple of hours after the morning darshan and the entire premises is cleaned. Flower decorations at the temple on Ugadi is done in the best possible manner and the purappadu is another feast for the eye. 

Ugadi is never complete without the pachadi , which is offered to god as parasadam after people read the Ramayana. Made of jaggery, pepper, chilli, tamarind, neem and mango, the ingredients denote every emotion all of us undergo in life. Jaggery stands for happiness, pepper for sudden surprises, tamarind for our worries (like tamarind, worry always leaves an aftertaste); chillies denote anger, mango stands for fear and neem flower signifies our frustration. However, when all the ingredients are ground together, it results in a pachadi that is irresistible and all of us keep going back for more helpings. Life is like that, a mix of joy and sorrow.