Marking the beginning of a new year in the Deccan part of India, Ugadi is celebrated majorly in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, etc. Locally it is also called Telugu Panchang or KannadPanchang and coincides with the Marathi festival of ‘GudiPadwa’, Rajasthani festival of ‘Thapna’ and the Sindhi festival of ‘Cheti Chand’.

Ugadi comes from two words; ‘yug’ meaning era and ‘aadi’ meaning beginning. It is believed that on this day Lord Brahma- the God of creation in Hindu trinity, created the universe. This is also the time when winter has left and spring is around, therefore making it a perfect occasion to begin anew.

The dates of Ugadi vary each year since they depend on the Hindu calendar which further changes very frequently depending on the solar cycles. As per the Hindu calendar it falls on the first day of the Chaitra month and is generally observed either in month of March or April according to the common calendar. This year it is scheduled on 9 April 2024.