Though I was Catholic, as a boy I always eagerly waited for the celebration of the feast of Ugadi. It is a feast that brought joy and happiness into my life before the end of the scholastic year.

Ugadi is is also known as Yugadi. Yug means new era and Adi means beginning; together it means beginning of a new era. It is traditionally believed that Lord Brahma began the process of creation on this day. It is a feast that is celebrated with much vigor and enthusiasm in Andhra Pradesh and  Karnataka but in Maharastra the same feast is celebrated as Gudipadava. 

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 celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment. 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. Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. In Andhra Pradesh, eatables such as “pulihora”, “bobbatlu” and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion.

Ugadi pachchadi, a pickle is a dish that has become synonymous with Ugadi. It is made of new jaggery, raw mango pieces and neem flowers and new tamarind. It is a combination of sweet, sour and bitter tastes. It reminds us that life is a mixture of different experiences such as sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust and surprise, which should be accepted together and with equanimity through the New Year. The feast invites everyone to face both good and bad, happiness and sadness with grace. Welcome everything. Consider everything for one’s own good. This is the message of Ugadi.