What is Bestu Varas?
Bestu Varas is the Gujarati New Year, celebrated the day after Diwali on the first day of the month of Kartik in the Vikram Samvat calendar. People greet each other with "Saal Mubarak" and "Nutan Varshabhinandan".
A fresh start for business
For Gujarati traders, the new year is the beginning of a new financial year. Fresh account books, called chopda, are worshipped during Chopda Pujan on Diwali and opened for business in the new year.
How it is celebrated
Families wake early, wear new clothes, draw rangoli, visit temples and seek the blessings of elders. Temples offer Annakut, a mountain of sweets and dishes for Lord Krishna, and the festivities continue until Labh Pancham.