Culture
Ugadi — The Beginning of a New Year
Festivals that are based on cycles of nature
Ugadi is a festival celebrated in Karnataka, a Southern state in India. The most likely origin of this word is from these two words — Yuga which is a period in time, and Adi which means the beginning. So Ugadi stands for the beginning of a period of time.
For us, followers of the Hindu calendar, Ugadi is the real start of the new year. A time for new beginnings. And most importantly, Ugadi heralds the entry of the king of fruits — the Mango!
Pretty much every Hindu festival has some component of nature incorporated in it — in the celebrations, in the food, in the timing of the festival. Ugadi is considered the day Lord Bramha created the universe. It also corresponds with the month of Chaitra. Chaitra masa or the month of chaitra is the beginning of spring.
A life lesson
As with any festival, we rise early, have a bath, and pray to the Gods. While there is no specific god associated with Ugadi, we always start our prayers by seeking the blessings of Lord Ganesh. He is important because he is known as the remover of obstacles or ‘vignanashaka’.
