Welcome to that magical time of year when mangoes begin plotting their juicy takeover, fans start spinning like they’re in a competition, and half of India collectively hits reset on the calendar. Yes, it’s New Year season—but desi style.
While the rest of the world waits for January 1st and a hangover, we prefer our New Years with Narus, Kolams, and a wardrobe change.
Let’s break it down, because this is not your average party—it’s a cultural buffet, a desi smorgasbord 🍛✨
Who’s Ringing in the New Year Now? Basically, Everyone.
Here’s a quick desi tour of who’s starting their year anew in April:
🪔 Ugadi – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka
🌅 Gudi Padwa – Maharashtra
🌾 Baisakhi – Punjab
🪞 Vishu – Kerala
🌸 Puthandu – Tamil Nadu
🎉 Poela Boishakh / Nabobarsho – Bengal
🧘 Chaitra Navratri & Hindu New Year – North India
🌼 Navreh, Cheti Chand, Bohag Bihu – Yes, more!
It’s like Oprah went wild:
“You get a new year! And YOU get a new year!”
My House: Where Calendars Collide and Nobody Panics
Now let me take you into my home, where we have:
- A Bengali mom (that’s me)
- A Tamil Nadu address
- A husband from Uttar Pradesh
- Two confused but festive kids
- And a cat who doesn’t care but still expects treats!
Naturally, we celebrate everything. And this year, we get to party twice in one weekend. 🥳
- Puthandu (Tamil New Year): April 14
- Nabobarsho (Bengali New Year): April 15
- UP-style Chaitra New Year: already happened at the start of Navratri, and yes, we honored that too, because why not?
This is our version of a long weekend getaway, except the destinations are all spiritual and the outfits are ironed the night before.
Puthandu: Kolams, Payasam, and Akka’s Decorating Wizardry
Let’s start with Puthandu, aka Tamil New Year.
Every year, my maid-turned-extended-family Akka transforms our living room with kolams so pretty I don’t let the kids breathe near them. Mango leaves go up, flowers get arranged like they’re auditioning for a wedding, and there’s this magical plate called the kani, filled with fruits, gold, a mirror, and other things I usually misplace on regular days.
She sets it all up like clockwork on April 13. I, in turn, give her April 14 off, plus a bonus, because if she’s doing goddess-level work, she deserves goddess-level rest.
Meanwhile, we eat payasam, light a lamp, and pretend we do this every year with military precision. The toddler mostly just wants the sweets and asks if this is a “birthday.” Sure. Happy Birthday, Tamil Nadu.
Poela Boishakh: The Bengali New Year That Hits Different
Next Day: April 15 = Shubho Nobo Borsho!
In Bengali culture, the New Year means:
- New clothes (ideally bright red or yellow, and at least one child must resist wearing them)
- Sweets (you’ve not lived till you’ve eaten mishti doi straight from a clay pot)
- Rabindra Sangeet (Tagore’s greatest hits played in every Bengali household like it’s Durga Pujo season)
- Get-togethers (with cousins and aunties galore)
Growing up, this day was about community get-togethers, some questionable group singing, and the occasional “Who can sing ‘Anandaloke’ with the most melodrama” contest. Spoiler: I always won. 🏆 Kidding!
Now, my husband doesn’t speak Bengali, and my kids are still figuring out if Tagore is a snack or a person, so the music tradition has evolved.
Singing “Anandaloke mangalaloke” solo while your toddler screams for “Baby Shark”? Not exactly the Tagore vibe.
But I still blast Rabindra Sangeet from the speakers, dramatically sway while holding a spoon, and pray nobody walks in thinking I’m summoning spirits.
Tradition, folks. You adapt.
Also, the new clothes rule stays. My kids get decked up like mini Bollywood stars because if I suffered through my mom’s hair-oil-braid-tikka routine, they must too. It’s only fair.
UP’s Chaitra New Year: Quiet, Sacred, and Sattvic
My husband’s roots lie in Uttar Pradesh, where the New Year starts with Chaitra Navratri. There’s fasting, prayers, and a whole lot of sattvic food (which, for the record, my toddler thinks is “boring lunch”).
It’s calmer than the other two celebrations but beautifully spiritual. And it gives me another reason to pull out my collection of sarees that rarely see sunlight.
So yes, in this one house, three New Years walk into the room and nobody bats an eyelid. That’s just how we roll.
Kids in a Cultural Melting Pot: Confused? Maybe. Blessed? Definitely.
One day they’re saying “Happy Puthandu!” with jasmine flowers in their hair, the next day they’re holding a mishti doi cup and trying to pronounce “Shubho Nobo Borsho”. By Monday, they might just start a campaign for a fourth New Year. (Bobiverse New Year, perhaps?)
But here’s the beauty in all of this: they’re growing up watching multiple traditions unfold side-by-side. Honestly, I love that my kids are growing up amidst this cultural thali of traditions. They’re learning that one culture doesn’t cancel out the other—it adds to it.
They’ll know how to say “Shubho Nobo Borsho,” how to spot a Vishu kani, and maybe even understand why their north Indian grandmother is fasting during Navratri while the Tamil aunty is frying vadas next door.
They’re learning that faith, festivity, and food can come in many languages, but the feeling is the same. And that, my friend, is the real new year gift.
It’s Unity in Diversity… seasoned with turmeric and ghee.
So What’s the Plan? Celebrate. Eat. Repeat.
🎉 April 14: Kolams, kani, payasam, and pretending I remembered everything in advance
🎉 April 15: Tagore, mishti, and bright clothes for everyone (even Bobi the cat gets a festive bow)
🎉 Bonus: Reheat the payasam and finish the leftover rosogolla because waste not, want not!
So whether you’re celebrating with Rabindrasangeet, Kolam, Chaitra Navratri, or just Netflix and Rasgulla, I wish you a joyful, vibrant, and super shubho new year.
From our mini India-in-one-home to yours:
Happy New Year in every language you know!
May this year bring you more joy than your toddler brings mess, more peace than your cat brings drama, and more sweets than your pantry can secretly store.
🪔 Happy Puthandu!
🌼 Shubho Nobo Borsho!
🧘 Chaitra Navratri ki Shubhkamnayein!
—
P.S. Curious about all the different Indian New Year celebrations? Check this out.
P.P.S. Want to dip your toes into Rabindra Sangeet like a true Bong-in-training? Here’s a melodious start. Don’t blame me if you cry happy tears.
Leave a comment