UGADI PURASKARAM TO Dr.KESIRAJU RAMPRASAD-IMPORTANCE OF UGADI

Every year SRI VIZNA VADIKA BHIMAVARAM CELEBRATES UGADI IN A GRAND WAY. This year on 4-4-2011 they organized the ugadi in Bhimameswara swamy temple in Bhimavaram as usually in a grand way.The organized the event so traditionally.
They honour outstanding people with UGADI PURASKARAM with life time achievement award. I received it this year along with Dr.K.S.P.N.VARMA.

Importance of Ugadi
All Hindu festivals have their own significance and importance. Hindu culture has a rich heritage, with numerous festivals. Each celebrated festival throughout the year has its own distinct value and ritual practice. Ugadi is celebrated in many states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Hindus take pride in celebrating festivals, because it is time for getting together as families. Ugadi like many other Hindu festivals believes in replacing vices with Virtues. This festival is celebrated to thank and celebrate the bounteous crop and also is a sign of the end of an old era and the beginning of a new one.
Significance of Ugadi
The name "Ugadi" came from Yuga + Aadi which means "Beginning of a New age. It is believed that the creator according to Hinduism, Lord Brahma started his work of creation on the Chaitra suddha padhyami(Ugadi). The onset of spring also in some way symbolically marks the beginning of new life. The new life seen in the fields and meadows, with colorful blossoms, also signify prosperity and well-being.
It is believed that Ugadi will be the next age of the Eternal World Drama Cycle, after the Kaliyuga. It is commonly believed that world drama cycle repeats every 5000 years with 1250 years for each yuga.
Ugadi is also regarded the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit. On this day predictions are made for the New Year. The panchanga shravanam or listening to the yearly calendar is done traditionally at the temples. Preparations for the festivalbegin almost a week ahead. Houses are cleaned. Shopping to buy new clothes and other items add to a lot of excitement.
The Ugadi rituals
On Ugadi, people wake up before the break of dawn and have a head bath. The entrances of their house are decorated with fresh mango leaves. According to the legend, Kartik asked people to tie green mango leaves to the doorway. It signifies a good crop and general well being.
It is believed that, everyone has the right to get Peace, Prosperity, Health, Wealth and Happiness and this can be done through the festival of Ugadi. Everyone has to change him or herself by replacing the vices with good virtues with the help of Spiritual or Godly knowledge.
If one looks closely, mango leaves and coconuts are used to initiate any pooja or any other auspicious occasions to please gods. People splash fresh cow dung water in front of their houses and make good rangoli's. This is a common sight in front of every household. People perform puja to worship God. They invoke his blessings before they start anything in the New Year. They pray for their prosperity health and wealth.
Ugadi is considered as the most auspicious time to start new ventures. Some people make a mixture with mango pieces, jaggery and Neem flowers. Jaggery represents joy and happiness while and Neem flowers represent sorrow.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE YEAR
Ugadi marks the beginning of a new Hindu lunar calendar with a change in the moon's orbit. It is a day when mantras are chanted and predictions made for the new year. Traditionally, the panchangasravanam or listening to the yearly calendar was done at the temples or at the Town square but with the onset of modern technology, one can get to hear the priest-scholar on television sets right in one's living room.

PREPARING FOR THE OCCASION
Preparations for the festival begin a week ahead. Houses are given a thorough wash. Shopping for new clothes and buying other items that go with the requirements of the festival are done with a lot of excitement.
On Ugadi day, people wake up before the break of dawn and take a head bath after which they decorate the entrance of their houses with fresh mango leaves. The significance of tying mango leaves relates to a legend. It is said that Kartik (or Subramanya or Kumara Swamy) and Ganesha, the two sons of Lord Siva and Parvathi were very fond of mangoes. As the legend goes Kartik exhorted people to tie green mango leaves to the doorway signifying a good crop and general well-being.
It is noteworthy that we use mango leaves and coconuts (as in a Kalasam, to initiate any pooja) only on auspicious occasions to propitiate gods. People also splash fresh cow dung water on the ground in front of their house and draw colorful floral designs. This is a common sight in every household. People perform the ritualistic worship to God invoking his blessings before they start off with the new year. They pray for their health, wealth and prosperity and success in business too. Ugadi is also the most auspicious time to start new ventures.
The celebration of Ugadi is marked by religious zeal and social merriment. Special dishes are prepared for the occasion. In Andhra Pradesh, eatables such as "pulihora, bobbatlu" and preparations made with raw mango go well with the occasion. In Karnataka too, similar preparations are made but called "puliogure" and "holige". The Maharashtrians make "puran poli" or sweet rotis.