Gudi Padwa is also known as Samvatsar Padvo which is celebrated on the first day of the Chaitra month to mark the beginning of the New year according to the Hindu calendar. This year it will be falls on 18 March. Gudi Padwa is the festival on which the people decorate their houses with colourful rangoli and a special Gudhi flag which is garlanded with flowers, mango and neem leaves, topped with upturned silver or copper vessel. they also celebrate this day with traditional songs, dancing and festive foods. Gudi Padwa is celebrated as Ugadi and also celebrated on the same day by the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Significance of Gudi Padwa
This festival signifies the arrival of the spring season and also to the reaping of Rabi crops. According to the Hindu mythology on this festival, God Brahma created time and universe. In rural Maharashtra, according to Anne Feldhaus, the festival is linked to Dance of Lord Shiva and coming together of the community as they carry the Gudhi Kavads together to a Shiva temple. Hindu New Year is known by different names and based on Solar calendar which is known as Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Bihu in Assam, Vaisakhi in Punjab, Pana Sankranti in Orissa and Naba Barsha in West Bengal.
How to celebrate Gudi Padwa
On a day of the festival, Hindu people sweep, clean and plastered with fresh cow-dung courtyards of their houses. Women and children designs beautiful rangoli on their doorsteps, with the vibrant colours associated with spring. Everyone dresses up new clothes and gathers together. Moreover, people prepare a special traditional dish that mixes various flavours, particularly the bitter leaves of the neem tree, sweet jaggery, sour tamarind and astringent dhane seeds. This is like a pacchadi recipe which is used in Ugadi festival. this special dish is eaten as a reminder of sweet and bitter experiences life. People of Maharashtra also make many other special dishes, such as shrikhand and Poori or Puran Poli on this day.
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