Ugadi – Symbolising the New Year or ‘The beginning of a new age ‘.
This festival always takes me down memory lane where we used to stay in a colony and it marked the beginning of the vacation with 10 days of festivities that started with Ugadi and ended with Ram Navami.
The Ugadi was always an indication for us that vacation time is here and as we kids would cycle down the streets under the shades of the Neem tree, the flowers would powder under the tyre and turn to a mustard yellow leaving the fragrance in the air. While we eagerly waited for the ripe yellow mangoes but couldn’t resist the temptation when we see the mangoes hanging from the trees so we just used to pluck or most of the time pick the fallen ones and rub them through our dress and take a bite 😀
Amma used to adorn the doors with Toran made with mango and neem leaf and draw rangoli … Then the Pooja at home where the #ugadipachadi was offered to the God as #naivedyam and we used to eagerly wait to savour the unique pachadi made only on this special day …
The sweet, sour, pungent and bitter tastes that dad used to explain to us and call as Shadruchulu was my favourite. The myriad rich taste of this delicacy tickled and lingers on our tongues for a long time leaving a medley of flavours. We used to visit our neighbours and friends adorning the festive wear and savour the Prasadam that’s #ugadipachadi along with other delicacies and enjoy the festive vibes.
And the very most important thing was listening to Panchanga sravanam as priests make predictions for the coming year. Though as kids we never understood what it was but eagerly waited for our zodiac sign to be flashed on the screen. The festivities continued for the next nine days as #navaratri would start and we kids awaited for Ramanavami
By: Athula Gutta, Founder ANO