Big story 7 The Global Times, Vol.3, Issue 1, January 2009 New Year Special
HCome 1st Jaanuary pand thepworld wyears a differNent hue, peoeple acwross the globe imYmersed inemerray makinrg to w! elcome the advent of a brand New Year. We Indians, too, look forward to parties and fun events to usher the New Year. But every region in India welcomes the traditional New Year on different days with symbolic festivities and special connotations... Imaging: Dinesh Kumar
Yajur Narang , XI-B they are led with their eyes closed to the tray. wealth and knowledge in the coming year. fillment of the year long hard work of the farmers. AIS Saket What amazes any visitor to Punjab at this time of Festival of lights Dance fest the year is the lush green bounty of nature. Added estivals in India, rich in its cultural inheri - to this, the bright colours of the traditional attire of tance, are an intrinsic part of Indian ethos. n Gujarat, New Year coincides with Diwali,an ohag Bihu, the Assamese national festival the people. Men and women perform ‘bhangra’ and Some festivals welcome the seasons of the Iimportant Hindu festival. Religious fervour par - Bmarks the beginning of a New Year. It is actu - ‘gidda’ the popular folk dances. yFear, the harvest, the rains or the full moon. Others alleled with ample fun and merry-making marks the ally a dance festival where special Bihu dances and The festival holds a special meaning for the Sikhs. celebrate religious occasions, the birthdays of divine festival. People light oil lamps around their houses songs are performed. Gudi Padwa is Maharash - It was on this day in 1699, that the tenth Guru Gob - beings, saints, and gurus, or the New Year. to welcome God, so do the people of Uttar trian New Year - Gudi that is Brahmdhwaj or Flag ind Singh organized the ‘Khalsa panth’. Guru Arjun One such occasion that calls for revelry and cele - Pradesh . Hindu new year is celebrated with the of Lord Brahma is hung at doors of each house. Das was martyred by the Muslim rulers on this day. brations is the New Year. Though Hinduism is fol - very first day of Kartik month following Diwali People clean & paint houses, perform prayers and Again, it was on this day in 1875, that Swami lowed by the largest percentage of people in India, Amaavasya and is popularly known as Vikram create beautiful rangoli . Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj, a sect even within the Hindu community it is not cele - Samvat. It is believed that Goddess Laxmi comes Despite so many diversities, people in India are of the Hindus that discards idol worship and is de - brated at the same time of the year and in the same to bless each house. People pray to the Goddess to united and they feel proud of their culture and tra - voted to the Vedas for spiritual guidance. Gautam fashion. New Year dates of many religions coincide bring them good luck and fortune. dition. Festivals in India are mainly a symbol of Buddha also attained enlightenment on this day. with each other. peace & prosperity, good harvest and happiness. In the Golden Temple in Amritsar, water drawn Kashmiri Navreh Festivals of India are what keep the diversity of the from all the sacred rivers of India is poured in the Nabo Barsho culture integrated. In spite of all the hardship peo - pool surrounding the holy shrine on this day. Fur - avreh is the lunar new year celebrated in ple come together to greet each happiness thermore, the ‘Granth Sahib’ is taken in a proces - n West Bengal , Nabo Barsho (New Year) is cel - Kashmir and many other parts of the coun - and prosperity. This feeling of harmony sion, led by the ‘Panj Pyaras’ or five senior Sikhs ebrated during spring. The Brahmaputra valley is tNry. This coincides with the first day of the is what keeps this diverse nation intact. who are symbolic of the original leaders. gIreen and cuckoos sing in the woods. Fragrant Chaitra (spring) Navratras. It is ob - ‘You must visit the gurdwara in the evening when flowers and orchids bloom. People decorate their served as the New Year’s day in Baisakhi – the it is beautifully lit and decorated’, my grandmother, houses with colorful flowers. Women wear yellow Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka a Punjabi herself, never fails to remind me. Indeed, clothes as it is symbolic of spring. (as Ogadi), in Maharashtra and harvest new Sikh devotees throng the Gurdwara and listen to Goa as (Gaudi Parva), by year of ‘Kirtans’ and discourses. I particularly look forward Bitter ‘n’ sweet Ugadi Sindhis as Cheti-Chand and in to the ‘langar’ or the community lunch served by the northern parts of India as Punjab volunteers. As a child, I would often wonder why n Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh too, New Chaitra Shukla Di i.e. the first Bhuvan Ravindran , VIII C people would strain themselves to bend and serve. Year is celebrated in the spring. In Telgu New day of the lunar fortnight of Chaitra. AIS Noida ‘When you bend to serve, you also surrender your Iyear known as ‘Ugadi’, family members and friends In Kashmir, on the eve of Navreh the Kulguru ego to His worthy cause’, my grandmother, as al - sit together for the traditional sauce called Ugadi of a Pandit family gets a new almanac and an illus - y earliest memories of Baisakhi are ways, would have an answer for everything I asked. pachchadi. On this day, it is customary for people to trated scroll. Late in the evening, the housewife gets those of flying kites with my I did not quite understand it then. But I do, now. eat a small helping of a salad made of neem leaves, a big plate and fills it up with rice or paddy, the new cousin onMthe terrace of my uncle’s house in Though most states celebrate it, to experience the jaggarey, raw mangoes and bananas. By eating this, almanac and scroll are placed on the rice. Early Chandigarh, eating the rich ‘kada prasad’ dripping gusto and exuberance with which Baisakhi is cele - the person is symbolically accepting everything bit - morning on the New Year day, a boy or a girl gets with pure ghee and dancing to the tune of Punjabi brated, Punjab is the place to be. The colourful fairs, ter and sweet that is likely to come his way through - up at dawn and, after taking the lid off the plate, folk songs. the procession of ‘Panj Pyaras’ and the unforget - out the year. In Kerala, on the night before New takes it to the head of the family and his wife and Celebrated on the13th of April, Baisakhi is essen - table taste of ‘kada prasad’ and many other exotic Year’s Day, mothers prepare a special tray consist - then to others in such a way that every member of tially a harvest festival and New Year rolled into dishes can be experienced only in Punjab. ing of special food, fruits, flowers and gifts. This the family gets a glimpse of the things kept in the one for the large farming community of Punjab . Kudos to India’s rich and glorious cul - tray is the first thing that one should see on New plate and looks into the mirror as the first thing in The grueling task of harvesting the rabi crop is ren - tural heritage mirrored in its myriad fes - Year’s Day. So, as soon as the children are awake, the morning. This signifies as prayer for food, dered light by merry community festivities in ful - tivals! The year should be a milestone for fighting “Global Warming” - Vashudha Bajaj (II B) AIS Saket.