It’s that time of the year when you celebrate new beginnings. Ugadi, the Kannada New Year is a festival of good cheer and brings with it celebrations galore. Kannadigas consider this an auspicious day to commence new ventures. Yugadi means starting of a new Yuga or period. We speak to a few well-known Kannadigas on how they are celebrating with enthusiasm and gaiety. Nitin Bagamane, chairman at Bagamane Ventures and his pretty wife Archana Bagamane celebrate Ugadi every year with great gusto. “We are Kannadigas so we celebrate this festival every year. We begin our day with an oil bath and after dressing up in traditional clothes, we decorate our Gods in our home temple. We also cook the traditional dishes like ellu bella and holige. We’re trying to teach our kids to imbibe our family traditions by observing us. The traditions and getting dressed in ethnic clothes on such occasions seems to be dwindling away slowly among the younger generation and I would like my kids to follow atleast some of them.”
It’s time to dress up in bright yellows and bring home the marigolds. Mayura Kadur, founder, Do Bandar, reveals her plans for the Ugadi celebrations ahead stating, “Festivals are all about food and new clothes for my husband Varun and me. We love dressing up and are both big foodies. Our mornings start off with washing the sides of the doors, applying the traditional turmeric and kumkum dots. I love drawing rangolis and filling them with colour. After which we get dressed, Varun in his kurta, me in a kanjeevaram saree pattu langa voni (since I’m Telugu and he’s Kannadiga) and this year we’re very excited because its our new-born daughter Aria’s first Ugadi, so we got a red silk lehenga stitched for her. We then eat the mix of neem leaves, tamarind, mango and jaggery.
Ugadi food for us is mango chitrana, holige, holige saaru, bele vade, kosambri all on plantain leaves grown in my parent’s garden. And wash it down with a tall glass of Karbuj juice. After that we meet some family and friends.” Another couple who goes all out to celebrate in traditional manner is Pramila Deepam, Deepam Silks and her husband Ravi Shankar. “We get the house cleaned and then decorate the house with lots of fresh flowers and flower hangings and an elaborate rangoli. We then take an oil bath and light the traditional lamp. I then dress up in a rich silk saree and traditional jewellery. Ugadi symbolises sweet and bitter moments; I make the traditional ellu bella and holige and celebrate with close friends and family.”
