“The celebration in north Karnataka is slightly different from that in Bangalore and Andhra Pradesh. This is an important festival for people in the region, as it provides an opportunity to remember elders in the family who are no more,” says Dr Chandrashekhar Sambrani, President of Uttara Karnataka Nagarika Abhivruddhi Vedike.
“We have been celebrating Ugadi as ‘Hiriyara Habba’ (elders’ festival). We perform pooja to the portraits of elders who are no more. We do not visit any particular temple, but offer special poojas to our family deity,” says Shivakumar Ganachari, a businessman in Vijayanagar.
“We put neem leaves in the water, before taking a bath on this day. Women perform ‘arathi’ to men and the men offer gifts to women. They prepare special dishes like ‘holige’, ‘ona bevu’ (powdered mixture of cereals and dry fruits) and ‘neeru bevu’ (a juice of dry fruits, tender mango and neem leaves),” said S R Patil, a lecturer in a Rajajinagar College.
‘Holige’ for patients
Founded by Venkateshmurthy, Youth for Seva (YFS) is planning to celebrate Ugadi with in-patients of Kidwai Institute of Oncology and the nearby remand homes for destitute children and mentally retarded elderly people. YFS volunteers will distribute ‘holige’ to the patients to mark the festival. The programme commences at 11 am on Monday, in the premises of Kidwai Institute on Hosur Road.
YFS also plans to provide help for the education of school children from poor families in Bangalore. Call 97318 90762 for details or visit the website http://www.youthforseva.org
Grand gala in Malleswaram
Ugadi festivities in the City began two days in advance with a grand gala planned for the seven wards of Malleswaram taking off on Saturday. Ugadi Vasanthotsava, a three-day gala which has been planned and executed by the Malleswaram Cultural Association with guidance from the local MLA C N Ashwathnarayan, seems to have captured the imagination of the citizens in the seven wards. Traditional folk arts and music are the theme of the celebrations.
“Our initiative was well received with over 5,000 people attending the event in Yeshwanthpur and Malleswaram,” said BJP Malleswaram unit president, Jagannath.
The objective of the gala is to promote the dying folk arts and music of Karnataka, mixed with entertainment for the citizens of the area.
On day two, Sunday, a procession was taken out across the seven wards with messages of peace and prosperity, on the eve of Ugadi festival. ‘Dollu Kunita’ and ‘Huli Vesha’, artistes from Mangalore and North Karnataka entertained the people.
The festivities went on till late in the night. Plays and musical concerts will be staged at various venues in all the seven wards of the area. Pehalwan Mirza Hussain from Bellary smashed bricks with bare hands and pulled a truck with his teeth. With the grand finale expected to draw huge crowds on Monday, this Ugadi will be remembered for a long time to come.