Happy Ugadi

A very happy Ugadi to all – more precisely, a happy new year to all readers of this blog. For the uninitiated Ugadi is celebrated as the first day of the year in Andhra Pradesh. I hail from a rather non-religious family, and hence am not really sure what constitutes celebrations for the year. However, despite the fact that there were no rituals followed, mom always made it a point to make the Ugadi Pachchadi – a bitter/sour/sweet concoction made of tamarind, raw mango, jaggery and neem leaves. On this day, this mixture is eaten first in the morning before consuming anything else – it is believed that the forthcoming year will be similar to the taste that lingers in the mouth upon eating this. The reasons notwithstanding, I believe this is a great concoction - a little taste of everything in it, just like life.

I also know that later in the day people gather informally for Panchanga Sravanam – a rendition of the Panchangam, forecasts for the new calendar. This was usually done in the village courtyards when an elderly, respected and scholarly person would open the almanac and make predictions pertaining to the New Year. I believe this is very much a private and personal gathering consisting of people who are interested in listening to the forecasts, and probably believe in them too. But increasingly a traditional, religious event such as this is being given a government sanction. Every year on this day, the chief minister with all and sundry that matter makes his way to the auditorium, has an elaborate function on opening the Panchangam and then listens "ardently" to the forecasts being read, and finally also makes a commentary on the things to come. Pray someone enlighten me – isn’t the state supposed to stay clear of supporting any kind of religious proceedings? How can the government directly or indirectly support and approve of a particularly personal, religious and non-scientific event such as this? I know I am being rather naïve, but I do believe someone should ask these questions – if we are a secular nation, why do we feel the need to have a photograph of a Hindu god in all government offices, or why do religious functions such as these get such a support from the government?