Greetings on the occasion of Vishu / Puthandu / Rongali Bihu/ Baisakhi/Pohela Boisakh.

Grand New year celebrations for a lot of Indian communities are round the corner. Mid April witnesses the Tamil Puthuvarusham, Vishu among the Keralites, Bohag Bihu among the Assamese, the Bengali New Year and Baisakhi among the Sikhs. The festival date is set in accordance with the solar cycle of the Hindu lunisolar calendar and mostly falls around the 14th/ 15th/ 16th of April year after year. Following the Spring Equinox, the date generally mark the first day in the respective community’s calendars. Following prayers, greetings and the seeking of blessings from elders, the lunch feasts are generally elaborate sumptuous spreads with a plethora of sweet, savoury, tangy and bitter dishes. I doubt there’s any Indian festivity of which food is not an integral part. 

Among the Assamese, Rongali Bihu is celebrated with great pomp and splendour. Men and women both young and old dress up in their finest Muga silk attires and participate in Bihu songs and dances that are generally accompanied by a variety of indigenously made musical instruments. The month of Bohag is the first month in the Assamese calendar and hence Rongali Bihu is also referred to as Bohag Bihu. 

Baisakhi marks the birth of the Khalsa way of living among Sikhs and commemorates the formation of Khalsa Panth warriors under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. Pohela Baisakh is the Bengali New Year and falls around the same time as all of the above mentioned festivals. What is interesting is that while the New Year festivities are in full swing in the different regions of India, there are celebrations happening as far as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Srilanka and Bangladesh too. 

Our team at urbantouch wishes it’s patrons from across the country and the world a very happy New Year. For all your New Year shopping needs do visit our stores or log on to our website and shop online on  www.urbantouch.in

Author: #Sneha Sundareshan