The Vice President has greeted the people of the nation on New Year.
On the occasion of various festivals held in the month of April, the Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has extended best wishes to the countrymen.
It is to be noted that ‘Ugadi, GudiPadwa, Chaitra Sukladi, Cheti Chand, Vaishakhi, Vishu, Puthandu, and Bohag Bihu’ are the major festivals celebrated in the month of April.
He said that these festivals are celebrated at the inauguration of the traditional New Year and reflect the composite culture and rich heritage of our country.
New Year festivals in various states of India
- The New Year is celebrated on different dates in different parts of India. According to the Indian calendar, which starts with the Shukla Pratipada of the month of Chaitra, it is called Navasvatsara. Often this date falls in the months of March and April.
- In Punjab, the New Year is celebrated on 13th April under the name Baishakhi. The people of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana celebrate this festival in the name of ‘Ugadi’, and in Karnataka as ‘Yugadi’.
- In Maharashtra, it is celebrated as ‘GudiPadwa’ (Marathi-Padwa). ‘Gudi’ means ‘Vijay Patka’. It is believed that the Hindu Emperor Shalivahana conquered his enemies (Shakas) on this day.
- This festival is celebrated in Tamil Nadu under the name of ‘Puthandu’. Puthandu also has another name ‘VarushaPirappu’ and celebrates it in Kerala with the name ‘Vishu’.
- ‘Pana Sankranti’ in Odisha, ‘PohelaBoishakh’ in West Bengal and ‘Bohag Bihu’ in Assam is considered to mark the arrival of the New Year.
- This festival is celebrated by the Sindhi community in the form of ‘Cheti Chand’. This community believes that Lord Jhulelal was born on this day.
Natural significance of Indian New Year:
- In India, these festivals are organized by different names, but the festive spirit suffused with joy, hope and togetherness remains the same.
- The year of spring begins with Pratipada which is filled with joy, happiness and fragrance of flowers all around.
- This is also the time to start harvesting, that is, the fruits of the hard work of the farmer.
- Nakshatras are in auspicious state, that is, it is auspicious for starting any work.
Source – PIB
