About Ugadi and Gudi Padwa
Chaitra Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra, is celebrated as New Year in several parts of India. In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka it is called Ugadi or Yugadi, from "yuga" and "adi", meaning the beginning of an age. In Maharashtra it is Gudi Padwa, and Konkani communities in Goa call it Samvatsar Padvo. According to tradition, Brahma began the work of creation on this day.
For Ugadi, homes are cleaned, doorways are decorated with mango leaves, and families prepare Ugadi pachadi, a mix of neem flowers, jaggery, tamarind, raw mango, salt and chilli. Its six tastes are a gentle reminder that the year ahead will hold every kind of experience. Many also listen to the Panchanga Shravanam, a reading of the new year's almanac. For Gudi Padwa, a gudi is raised at the window or doorway: a bamboo staff dressed in bright cloth, crowned with an upturned kalash and adorned with neem, mango leaves and a sugar garland, symbolising victory and prosperity.
How it is observed
- Cleaning the home and decorating doors with mango leaf torans and rangoli
- Taking an oil bath and wearing new clothes
- Preparing Ugadi pachadi, or eating neem with jaggery on Gudi Padwa
- Raising a decorated gudi at the window or entrance in Maharashtra
- Listening to the reading of the new year's Panchang
Ugadi and Gudi Padwa dates in past and coming years
| Year | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tuesday, 9 April 2024 | Past |
| 2025 | Sunday, 30 March 2025 | Past |
| 2026 | Thursday, 19 March 2026 | Past |
| 2027 | Wednesday, 7 April 2027 | Next |
| 2028 | Monday, 27 March 2028 | Upcoming |
| 2029 | Saturday, 14 April 2029 | Upcoming |
| 2030 | Wednesday, 3 April 2030 | Upcoming |
Dates are calculated from the Panchang for New Delhi. Some regions may observe a day earlier or later.
Across India
Celebrated widely in: Maharashtra Karnataka Andhra Pradesh Telangana
The same season is marked in many ways. Where a region keeps the festival on a different day, its calculated date is shown.
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Ugadi, Yugadi
Families eat Ugadi pachadi or bevu-bella, a mix of six tastes for the joys and sorrows of life, and listen to the Panchanga Shravanam for the coming year.
Maharashtra
Gudi Padwa
A gudi with silk cloth, neem, flowers and an upturned kalash is raised outside homes, and Shobha Yatras fill the streets.
Goa, Konkan
Sanvsar Padvo
Konkani families mark the New Year with prayers, neem leaves and sweets, and begin new ventures.
Sindhi communities
Cheti Chand
Sindhis celebrate their New Year a day later, on the birth of Jhulelal, with Baharana Sahib processions to the water.
Date: Thursday, 8 April 2027
Kashmir
Navreh
Kashmiri Pandits look at a thali of rice, walnuts, flowers and a new Panchang on waking, and visit the Sharika Devi temple at Hari Parbat.
North India
Nav Samvatsar
The Hindu New Year (Vikram Samvat) begins, and Chaitra Navratri starts with kalash sthapana.
Date: Wednesday, 7 April 2027
The same day is observed as Cheti Chand by Sindhi communities and Navreh in Kashmir, while some regions follow a solar new year instead.
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