Tomorrow (14.04.2021) is counted as an auspicious day across many states in India. It’s the solar day when sun stands over the equator and we Indian consider it as our new year. Everywhere there are special arrangements made in spite of the pandemic situations. Across states covering south of India, south eastern India and towards the western side of India the festival of New Year is celebrated with bang and blow. Other than these Maharashtra and northern India also celebrates their new year on the day.
Looking forward to the celebration process across Maharashtra, as per news report, there are about 30,000 personnel of Mumbai police and several drones on duty. These are engaged to ensure that the mumbaikars follow the covid 19 guidelines in the light of the lockdown in the place due to the covid 19 pandemic situations. There would be no parties and discos opened for any kind of celebration. Moving ahead to other celebrations, everything can go silently but in better way to bring ahead New Year celebration with perfection.
April: The month of New Year:-
The month of April in India always marks the beginning of New Year for various communities in India. The days begin with celebration of Ugadi, Cheti chand, Navreh and bohag bihu. Everywhere and each community celebrates the New Year in a unique manner and promotes distinctive traditions. It’s the integrity of our culture that makes us stay bounded in a string of love to our tradition.
Gudi padwa or ugadi:-
The festival is observed on the 13th day of april month across the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The festival is considered as New Year for people across the state which they observe by placing a gudi outside their door or window. This is usually observed on the first day of the month of chaitra. Basically in Konkani communities, it is celebrated as samwatsara and in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh its ugadi. On this day, people celebrate with decorating their doorsteps with rangoli and toran that are made from mango leaves. Even prayers and flowers are offered to the Gudi after placing it on the window or door. After that people perform aarti and put akshat on the gudi
Cheti chand:-
The festival is considered as the Sindhi New Year and is quite auspicious among Sindhi communities in India and Pakistan. The festival coincides with the second day of chaitra sukla paksha in Hindu dates. Since the day appears to be the no moon day, the day is called the cheti chand. This is also known as jhulelal jayanti in the form dedicated to the deity as being the Hindu incarnation of lord varun.
Navreh:-
This festival is celebrated across Jammu and Kashmir as Navreh which is enjoyed by preparing a plate full of unhusked rice with bread and a small bowl of yoghurt, salt, sugar candy and some walnuts or almonds. A silver coin or an rs 10 note, pen, mirror and some beautiful flowers and the new panchanga or almanac. The plate is prepared in the night and people look into it when they get up first in the morning. Then they start their day.
Bohag bihu:-
This auspicious day marks the beginning of the Assamese New Year which begins on 14th of April and ends on 20th of April. This festival is celebrated mostly in the north eastern states of Assam for a period of 7 days or it’s called the pinnacle phases. These are like “sot, raati, goru, manuh, kutum, mela and sera”. The first phase is performed around the ancient tree or in an open field and for the last phase people end up celebration by contemplating their goals and plans for future. On the occasion, families also exchange the Assamese sweet called pitha to share their joy of celebration.
Reason for April 14th being the Hindu New Year;-
As of various researchers and news, it’s confirmed that the 14th day of April is considered as the Hindu New Year. This is being marked in sacred scriptures, evidences of the beginning of new year is being observed since 5 millennia that has been found archaeologists discovered the stone solar calendar that people from the mohenjo- daro civilization have used. Evidences of Dravidians celebrating the New Year on 14th April even before the Indus valley inhabitants being found. It’s the Dravidians who coincided the beginning of the New Year with the zodiac. With the sun entering the first rashi or the mesha rashi is being marked as the beginning of the New Year.
Both Aryans and Dravidians are acknowledged on the onset of spring and celebrate the day as new year. Even the learned sages and pontiffs revering the sun god as Brahmas associate with the term “Tat Savitur” or center of the universe was associated with the sun god. It’s the sanathana dharma which marks the auspicious year beginning with 14th April by prayers and thanks giving to the sun god, the maker, regulator of time and even the nourisher of life on earth. There are states like Assam, westbengal, Kerala, Manipur, mithila, odisha, Punjab and Tripura celebrating and considering the day as first day on the year. Apart from these, internationally across Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand this day is also marked auspicious and is celebrated as New Year.
Bengal special new year:-
Bengali’s celebrated their new year and calls it “poila baishakh”. This is considered as state holiday across the eastern state of west Bengal and is also a national holiday in Bangladesh. Every individual clean their house and invoke goddess lakshmi.
In kerela, it’s the vishu which is the first month of medam in Kerala. This marks the auspicious New Year beginning in Malayalees. The day starts with rituals of visiting the temple and looking at any auspicious sight like “vishukani”. The elaborate traditional rituals with the tokens called “vishukaineetam”. This is also distributed among the downtrodden as a gesture of prosperous beginnings.