Happy Ugadi..

                         We Wish All Our Readers A Happy and Prosperous Ugadi..

On todays occasion we are trying to give a brief information about Ugadi through this post.

 Introduction

Ugadi / Yugadi is the day of New Year for the people of Deccan region of India. The name Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit words yuga (age) and adi (beginning), ie Ugadi : "the beginning of a new age". It falls on the different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March–April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the new year. Chaitra is the first month in Panchanga which is the Indian calendar.

 While the people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka use the term Ugadi/Yugadi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa. Marwari, people of Rajasthan celebrate the same day as their new year day Thapna. Sindhis, people from Sindh, celebrate the same day as their New Year day Cheti Chand.Manipuris also celebrate their New Year on the same day. It is observed as Baisakhi in Punjab and Puthandu in Tamil Nadu. However, it is not celebrated on the same day as Yugadi in Tamil Nadu. It is also celebrated in Mauritius.Hindus of Bali and Indonesia also celebrate their new year on the same day as Nyepi. This tri-state festival may be the result of the common rulers of the Satavahana Dynasty.

The Kannada, Marathi, Telugu and the Konkani people in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala celebrate the festival with great fanfare. The day, begins with ritual showers (oil bath) followed by prayers.

Symbolic Eating Of Dish with Six Tastes
 The eating of a specific mixture of six tastes.Bevu-Bella in Kannada.Symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of different experiences (sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise), which should be accepted together and with equanimity through the New Year.

The special mixture consists of:

    Neem Buds/Flowers for its bitterness, signifying Sadness
    Jaggery and ripe banana pieces for sweetness, signifying Happiness
    Green Chilli/Pepper for its hot taste, signifying Anger
    Salt for saltiness, signifying Fear
    Tamarind Juice for its sourness, signifying Disgust
    Unripened Mango for its tang, signifying Surprise

Special dishes 

Vobbattu or Holigey :-prepared on Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.In Karnataka a special dish called obbattu or Holige, is prepared. In Andhra Pradesh, a special dish called Bhakshyalu or Bobbatlu (Polelu) (Puran Poli) are prepared on this occasion. It consists of a filling (gram and jaggery/sugar boiled and made in to a paste) stuffed in a flat roti-like bread. It is usually eaten hot or cold with ghee or milk topping or coconut milk at some places of Karnataka.