According to Hindu scriptures, Ugadi is thought to be the day when Lord Brahma created the universe. Ugadi is a key festival, marking the start of the New Year according to the Hindu calendar. At the Shri Venkateshwara Devasthanam, commonly referred known as the Mauritius Telugu Maha
Sabha Branch No 53, situated in the village of L’Escalier in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, Ugadi has been celebrated in a special manner this year. The 2 Acharyas performed the prayers accompanied by only 2 Yajmans and a volunteer, respecting Covid-19 sanitary and social distancing measures at all times. This session was being broadcasted live on Facebook for the members to follow from the comfort of their own homes. The members were able to add their comments and show their appreciation to the community. A difficult moment, yet the devotees were encouraged to remain positive by using this unique opportunity to pray and spend quality time with their close ones.
Ugadi Pachadi is “a must do special dish on Ugadi”, according to Secretary Chelvin Ramsamy. He goes on to share that “to prepare for the New Year, our members have engaged in Muggu decoration, making mango-leaf toran as well as preparing special dishes. Food is an extremely integral part of the occasion.
The Pachadi includes sweet, sour, salty, bitter, astringent and piquant.” He proudly states that the younger generation has been very active this year and predicts that the future is in safe hands. President Vikram Joghee delivers a powerful message on this occasion, “In life, we often give importance to pompous celebration, elegant style as well as sumptuous food. But now, the merciful
The Lord wants to remind us that we should never forget that our basic needs remain food for our body and compassionate love for our relations as well as spiritual discipline to attain Moksha, liberation. And during Covid-19, we learned that, in fact, we really need natural food (non-processed), quality time with family and show gratitude to the Lord for His infinite mercy.”
Secretary Chelvin states that it is essential to keep up with the traditions, despite the challenges being posed by the global pandemic. He highlights that it is the second consecutive year that they are celebrating Ugadi in lockdown, but that it is now of utmost importance to “adapt to the new normal”.
He concludes that the Ugadi celebration is a “yearly reminder of human being’s duty to convey his gratitude to the Divine for all the good things we obtain from God”.
President Vikram and Secretary Chelvin seized this opportunity to wish the whole Mauritian nation good health, happiness and success in the coming year and beyond.
“Shree Plava Nama Ugadi Shubhakankshalu”
