Ugadi Traditions: Celebrating the Kannada New Year

Ugadi is the celebration of Ney Year which is celebrated in the Indian state of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. People on this day gleefully venture into starting new projects and consider it an auspicious time for starting off with special things in life. While in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh it is known as Ugadi, in Maharashtra it is called as Gudipadawa.

The Legendry Tale of Ugadi

Ugadi, also known as Chaitra suddha padhyami is believd to be the day when Lord Brahma created the Universe. First he created the days, nights, months, years and weeks and then went on to making other elements of the Universe.

Ugadi Preparation

The planning for the festival starts a week before. The ladies of household start off with the preparations by cleaning up with the houses thoroughly. On this day people buy new clothes for their family members and for themselves and in that way they enjoy the spirit of festival. People on this day get up early in the morning before the end of the dawn and take up head bath. Before taking bath it is the tradition that one has to massage the entire boy with sesame oil.

Traditions of Ugadi

A lot of traditions are associated with the celebration of the festival. The celebration begins with elderly ladies of the house getting up early in the morning at 4:30 AM and chanting mantras related to the festival. Some of the common traditions followed during the Ugadi celebration include:

• It is believed to be an auspicious practice to watch ones reflection in a bowl full of molten ghee.
• Abhyang is something related to giving oil bath to the statue of the God.
• The elderly women of the family apply kumkum to all the members of the family and afterwards perform aarti for their well being. This practice is called as Enne (Oil) Shastra.
• Puja is a general practice which is performed in almost all the households during any festival. During Ugadi, puja is performed in four steps which include Abhisheka, Naivedya, Mangalrathi and Alankara.
• Flower Offering- Traditionally it is believed that one should offer tamarind, neem and mango flowers to God as they make God happy according to the belief.
• Worshipping Panchanga- after the Puja ritual is complete; the Panchang for the New Year is worshipped so as to have a prosperous Year ahead. After this Indra Dhwaja Puja or Gudi Puja is performed.
• Like many other festivals of India when people buy and wear new clothes, in Ugadi also people wear new clothes which indicates the beginning of afresh and gleeful Year.
• In addition top that the front door of the house is decorated with Kemmannu, mango leaves and colourful Rangolis.
• People eat neem and jaggery together welcoming a life full of beautifully heart warming events in the coming years. And the practice is called Bevu Bella.
• On the day of Ugadi first meal is offered to the almighty and then people eat that which becomes Prasad for them.
• To take the blessing of the almighty, people go to the temples.

The whole family together offers prayer to the almighty and seek his blessings during the celebration of the festival. Food is also one of the important aspects of the celebration and Ugadi special dishes are prepared on this day. The main dish which is a must in Ugadi is Bevu Bella which is actually the paste of neem, raw mango, tamarind juice and jaggery.