Gudi Padwa

The Gudi marks by buying a bright green or yellow silken cloth and attaching it to a long bamboo stick with a zari brocade. Then neem leaves, gathi (a sweet Maharashtrian preparation), a garland of red or yellow flowers, and a twig of mango leaves are also tied on top of the cloth.

This stick gets topped off with an inverted silver or copper pot with the different ornaments. The Gudi gets placed at the house entrance. A ritualistic oil bath is said to begin the day. In North India, on the same day, the nine-day Chaitra Navaratri festival begins.

The ingestion of neem leaves is another unique activity which forms part of the celebrations. These are taken directly or ground into a paste and used in a special preparation, jaggery, and other seeds. The importance of marking the start of the festivities lies in this tradition.

Exceptional food, including a sweet dish known as Shrikhand, which gets consumed with Indian bread known as Poori, are prepared on this day. Other uniquemeals include the sweet Indian flatbread, Soonth Panak and Chana, also known as Pooran Poli.

Importance of Rangoli in GudiPadwa

During auspicious Hindu festivals, Rangoli is one of the most common and quintessentially Indian ways of decorating the home. The Gudi ground gets adorned with an elaborate Rangoli made using powdered dye, flowers, and petals, and in the households celebrating this festival is a much anticipated practice.

There is no apparent motive for the Rangoli that GudiPadwa warrants. Therefore, in whatever combination they choose, artists have the right to use a variety of motifs. It can vary from geometric designs, motifs influenced by nature and human figures to more religiously important.

Auspicious symbols such as the kalash, swastika with the four dots, om, mangal, Ashoka tree leaves, a lighted lamp, the lotus and many others. The rangoli’s beautiful colours and the flowers used in its making reflect the splash of colors and life it brings this season.

Gudi Padwa Attire

Since the significant celebration of Gudi Padwa takes place in Maharashtra, the attire worn by people, especially women, is very traditional in the region. The saree drapes appear more like dhoti pants than a long skirt in the bottom half, which could be in several bright colors. The sarees generally have gold embellishments at the boundary, while the remainder of the sarees are white, i.e. without any pattern.

This outfit accessorizes a garland of mogra flowers in the hair tied into a bun and an intricate gold nose ring. Even the earrings are gold, pinned to the hair with a single ornamental chain. Some men and women also tie a turban around their heads in a saffron-coloured cotton fabric.