- Month
- March or April (Chaitra)
- Where
- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
- Signature dish
- Ugadi pachadi / bevu-bella
When it happens
Ugadi falls on Chaitra Shuddha Padyami, the day after the new moon in Chaitra, so the date changes every year and typically lands between mid-March and mid-April. Maharashtra celebrates the same day as Gudi Padwa. All three states observe it as a public holiday.
How it is celebrated
Families wake early for an oil bath, then put on new clothes. Doorways are hung with fresh mango leaves and the front of the house is decorated with rangoli. Prayers are offered at home and in temples, and in the evening many people gather to listen to the Panchanga Shravanam, a reading of the new almanac that forecasts the rains, harvest and fortunes of the year.
In Karnataka the day's festive meal usually includes obbattu or holige, a sweet flatbread stuffed with jaggery and lentil, while Andhra homes often make pulihora and bobbatlu.
The six-taste dish
The best-known custom is eating a mixture of six tastes, called Ugadi pachadi in Telugu and bevu-bella in Kannada. Neem flowers bring bitterness, jaggery sweetness, tamarind sourness, raw mango tang, chilli or pepper heat, and salt completes it. Taking a spoonful is a reminder that the coming year will bring joy and sorrow together, and that both should be accepted calmly.
- Neem flowers (bitter)
- Jaggery (sweet)
- Tamarind (sour)
- Raw mango (tangy)
- Chilli or pepper (hot)
- Salt
Where to see it
Every town and village in the three states marks the day, but temple towns give the fullest experience. Bengaluru, Mysuru, Hyderabad and Tirupati all see crowds at major temples, and the Panchanga readings at mutts and temples are open to all. Markets the day before are full of mango leaves, neem flowers and flowers for decoration.
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