What is Ugadi?
Ugadi is the New Year for the people of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. The name comes from "yuga" (age) and "adi" (beginning). It falls on the first day of the bright half of Chaitra, the same day as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra.
Ugadi pachadi
The special dish of the day is Ugadi pachadi, made with six ingredients: neem flowers, jaggery, tamarind, raw mango, salt and chilli. Each taste stands for a different experience of life, reminding us to accept joy and sorrow alike in the year ahead.
How it is celebrated
Families wake early for an oil bath, decorate doorways with mango-leaf torans and rangoli, and wear new clothes. In the evening, people gather for Panchanga Shravanam, the reading of the new year's almanac by a priest.