“We have to change this whole earth into a tremendous festival, and it is possible because man brings all that is needed to transform this earth into a paradise.” Rajneesh
“Yugasya Adi: Yugadi” The word Uga in Ugadi means the movement of the stars. Adi means the beginning! It means the day when the stars movement begins. That is, the day when the actual movement of time begins. Ugadi is the new year celebrated in Andhra, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. According to our Puranas, Chaitra Shukla Padyami means that creation took place on the day of Ugadi. Since Brahma created the vast universe on the day of Chaitra Shukla Padyami, Ugadi is celebrated as a sign of the beginning of creation.
The Telugu year begins from the day of Ugadi. This is the first festival of the Telugu people. It is good if new work is started on the day of Ugadi. On that day, one should wake up early in the morning, clean the house and the porch, tie mango arches to the doorways, take a bath, wear washed clothes, eat Ugadi Pacchadi and start the daily routine.
Ugadi Pacchadi is a combination of six flavors. Ugadi Pacchadi, which is a combination of six flavors: sweet (madhuram), sour (amlam), salt (lavanam), pungent (katu), bitter (tikta), and bitter (kashayam), is special to the Telugu people. Ugadi Pacchadi conveys the message of accepting the good, the bad, the hardships and the pleasures that one encounters throughout the year. The inner significance of this preparation is to indicate that life is a mixture of good and bad, joy and sorrow and all of them have to be treated alike. All experiences have to be treated with equanimity. Everyone should make a resolve that he will face calmly whatever happens this year, accepting it with good grace. Welcome everything. Consider everything for one’s own good. Men should rise above sorrow and happiness, success and failure. This is the primary message of the Ugadi festival.
On Ugadi day, people wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath after which they decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves. The significance of tying mango leaves relates to a legend. It is said that Kartik (or Subramanya or Kumara Swamy) and Ganesha, the two sons of Lord Siva and Parvathi were very fond of mangoes. As the legend goes Kartik exhorted people to tie green mango leaves to the doorway signifying a good crop and general well-being.
Auspicious days like Ugadi should be used for making resolutions to change our way of life and to purify our behavior by giving up all bad qualities. Ugadi is a festival that teaches lessons in selfless service. It is not intended for feasting. It is a sacred day when wholesome wisdom should dawn and enlightenment should blossom in the hearts of the people. Ugadi teaches man the lesson that he should perfect himself as an embodiment of divinity.
Season For Pickles:
   With the raw mango available in abundance only during the two months (of April/May), people in Andhra Pradesh make good use of mangoes to last them until the next season. They pickle the mangoes with salt, powdered mustard and powdered dry red Chilli and a lot of oil to float over the mangoes. This preparation is called "avakai" and lasts for a whole year.
Kavi Sammelanam:
   Kavi Sammelanam (poetry recitation) is a typical Telugu Ugadi feature. Ugadi is also a time when people look forward to a literary feast in the form of Kavi Sammelanam. Many poets come up with new poems written on subjects ranging - from Ugadi - to politics to modern trends and lifestyles. Experts will open the new Panchanga on the day and explain the forecast of rain, crops, storms, crop prices and other relevant things. Prediction of the whole year and make people prepared to face any situation. People also watch the moon (Chandra Darshana) as it is an eventful day.
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