I am sure all my readers are aware that I love to write about festivities! They bring so much joy, cheer, bonding and family time that one feels rejuvenated for several weeks thereafter. What could be better than a week where we have two festivals; Gudi Padwa & Eid!
Gudi Padwa is celebrated in Maharashtra and similarly Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh. While Gudi Padwa signifies the Maharashtrian new year, Ugadi signifies the same for Andhra Pradesh.
The word Gudi (or Gudhi) means a flag of Lord Brahma and Padwa is Pratipada (the first day of the new moon phase according to the Hindu calendar). It is also the beginning of the new harvest season for farmers. People hoist Gudis at their houses, which is considered auspicious and believed to bring good luck and fortune. The Gudis are made of a metal pot (kalash) decorated with a colourful cloth and a garland of flowers, mango leaves and neem leaves and are attached to the top end of bamboo. People enjoy festive foods like shrikhand puri, aamras puri and even puran poli on this day.
Just two days after Gudi Padwa, we will be celebrating Eid. As always, I look forward to the delicious Biryani and Sheer Kurma which many of my friends cook and send or even invite us over for! I was in Dubai recently and could savour the pre-Eid festivities. I was aware of the Iftar parties which we also host for our international students but for the first time in Dubai I attended ‘Suhoor’ which are festivities that are celebrated all through the night. It was nice to have been invited in Dubai for one such ‘Suhoor’ hosted by Mr Rizwan Sajan of Danube. This year Eid is a bit more special to all of us at Symbiosis as we are eagerly awaiting the inauguration of our first international campus in Dubai!
It is such a wonderful feeling to be spreading the message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutukbakam- the World is One Family,’ by including students from various ethnicities across the world in our campus. While we have been doing so at the various Symbiosis campuses in India, we will continue to do the same in our Dubai campus too.
I wish everyone a very happy Gudi Padwa & Eid and hope that we continue to celebrate all festivals, irrespective of religion, all across the world!