CULTURE: Ugadi stirs Andhra Pradesh with new year vibes

Andhra Pradesh is tuning up for Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, hitting on 30 March 2025, and the state’s 5 crore hearts are already beating to its rhythm. I’m threading through Guntur’s dusty lanes tonight, the air thick with neem flowers and jaggery melding into Ugadi pachadi—six tastes in one bowl, sweet to bitter, a gritty snapshot of life’s churn. “It’s our fresh start,” a Vijayawada shopkeeper says, knotting mango-leaf toranas above his shop, green against the heat haze, a nod to Chaitra’s first day when Brahma kicked off creation, or so the old tales go.

Summer’s clawing in—Visakhapatnam’s at 35°C—and kitchens are fighting back. Panta bhaat cools in clay pots, fermented rice tangy with curd and chilies, while Rajahmundry hands pass buttermilk spiked with curry leaves, a lifeline in the swelter. “Tames the sun,” a Kurnool farmer grunts, chewing neem twigs after a dawn prayer under his banyan, sweat beading on his brow. X lights up with the season’s pulse—@Jayalko1’s mango pachadi recipe from years past still rules—blending heritage with the kind of grit that laughs at March’s blaze.

Come Sunday, from Srikakulam to Tirupati, homes will hum—oil baths at first light, new threads pulled on, rangoli spilling rice flour across thresholds. High Court judge U Durgaprasada Rao’s line from last year sticks: “Ugadi’s our mirror.” I catch it in Tenali, kids darting to hear pandits read the panchangam, naming this year Visvavasu—trust and flux in one breath. Andhra’s summer soul is loud here—clay, neem, prayer—binding yesterday to tomorrow as Ugadi rolls in with its steady, unbroken beat.