Mumbai: A colourful palette of Hindu new year festivals led by the Maharashtrian celebration of Gudi Padwa unfolded across the city on Thursday. Grand parades were led in Girgaum and Dombivli, whose theme centred on the 150th anniversary of national song ‘Vande Mataram’.Individual households hoisted the gudi in their balconies or windows and served shrikhand and puranpoli. Natives of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka celebrated Ugadi the same day, while the Sindhis will enjoy Cheti Chand on Friday. Shreedhar Agarkar, president of Swami Vivekanand Yuva Pratishthan, which organises the Girgaum parade, said, “This was the 24th year of our procession and we focused on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram… A 20ft statue of Veer Savarkar held the gudi in its hand.” This year’s highlight was a display of Maharashtra’s award winning Republic Day tableau. Mumbadevi and Mahalakshmi—indeed all temples dedicated to the Mother Goddess—rose early to launch the nine-day Chaitra Navratra with the ghatsthapna ceremony. This observance will culminate on Ram Navami. Sri Sankara Mattham, Matunga, will conduct daily hom (fire sacrifice) and offer free food to devotees through Navratri. Nearby, the 300-year-old Marubai Gavdevi Mandir will conduct pujas each day and bhajans in the evening, said chairman Anil Gavand. All communities issue the annual almanac on Chaitra pratipada (Gudi Padwa). Kedia Sabha released two panchangs prepared by Pt Bharat Bhushan Mishra at a special ceremony in Goregaon. In Dombivli, a 3km-long shobha yatra continued a 27-year-old padwa legacy helmed by Ganesh Mandir Sansthan, along with Navvarsh Swagat Yatra Coordination Committee. BJP state president Ravindra Chavan and Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde joined the procession featuring a ‘Vande Mataram’ float. One tableau depicted development projects in Kalyan LS constituency, including the proposed double-decker transport corridor. Spectators marvelled at a replica of Khidkali Shiv temple that is undergoing beautification, a superspeciality hospital in Ulhasnagar, Sant Sawalaram Maharaj Mhatre Sports Complex and Warkari Bhavan. The Persian New Year of Jamshedi Nowruz falls on Saturday. Agiaries disseminated messages on social media inviting people to special prayers. Muslim Iranians will celebrate Nowruz with baklava, sherbet and ethnic sweets. The month-long fast of Ramzan draws to a close on Friday, with Eid ul’ Fitr expected to fall on Saturday.
