BRISK SHOPPING: People buying neem and mango leaves on the eve of Ugadi, in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: In contrast to the merry-making that precedes the beginning of the New Year festivities, puja and `panchanga shravana' mark the start of the Hindu new year on Ugadi — the first day of Chaitra.

Also, Ugadi ushers in Vasanta Ruthu. People prepare themselves for new tasks.

As the name Ugadi suggests, it is the beginning of a new era. Ugadi brings to an end the "Parthiva Nama Samvatsara" and ushers in "Vyaya Nama Samvatsara," of the Hindu calendar.

All Hindu rituals are based either on Chandramana (lunar) calendar beginning on Chandramana Ugadi or the Souramana (solar) calendar beginning on Souramana Ugadi. While Chandramana Ugadi is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra in many parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Souramana Ugadi is celebrated a fortnight later in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, coastal Karnataka and many parts of North India. As the day is the beginning of a new era, it is considered auspicious. The day begins with an oil bath. Later, people consume "bevu bella" (a mixture of neem leaves and jaggery) and wear new clothes.

It has been the tradition in Old Mysore, including the Malnad region, of the family priest visiting houses and reading the new almanac, which is called `Panchanga Shravana.'

But this practice has gradually declined due to disintegration of joint families and the `Panchanga Shravana' is often done in temples. Many villagers still continue the practice of giving a facelift to houses and temples in the village prior to Ugadi.

People in north Karnataka have the practice of offering `bevu bella' to their near and dear ones in the afternoon. While men decorate the main door with mango leaves and perform puja, the women make preparations for a hearty lunch. A variety of sweets are prepared on the occasion. The name of every `samvatsara' has a specific meaning, says Miginakallu Shashishekhar, Vedic scholar and a priest. While the year gone by, Parthiva, meant things connected to Prithivi (earth), the coming Vyaya Samvatsara means decline.

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