Nashik readies for Ramnavami

Nashikites on Monday celebrated Gudi Padwa and ushered in the Hindu New Year with traditional fervour and gaiety.

People made preparations a day before by putting together the traditional gudi by tying a cloth, a garland, a gathi and a twig of neem to one end of a piece of bamboo and raised it outside their homes on the occasion.

Rangolis were decorated in front of houses and women prepared delicious meals with shrikhand-puri being the favourite menu. In some parts of the city, the new year was welcomed with traditional processions to the beats of drums. At some places, music concerts were arranged in the morning.

The Ramnavami festival, which is celebrated on a grand scale at the famous Kalaram Mandir in Panchavati in Nashik, also begins on the first day of the year. The week-long festivities include socio-cultural programmes such as lectures and concerts.

Among those performing during the week are classical vocalist Suhas Vyas and Padmaja Phenani-Joglekar. Ramnavami will be celebrated on April 12. It will conclude with a rath yatra on April 14.