Accordingly Ugadi is the New Year's Day for the people of the Deccanregion of India. The name Yugadi or Ugadi is derived from the Sanskrit words yuga (age) and ādi (beginning): "the beginning of a new age". It falls on a different day every year because the Hindu calendar is a lunisolar calendar. The Saka calendar begins with the month of Chaitra (March–April) and Ugadi marks the first day of the New Year. Chaitra is the first month in Panchanga which is the Indian calendar.
While the people of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh use the term Yugadi/Ugadi for this festival, the people of Maharashtra term the same festival, observed on the same day, Gudi Padwa (Marathi: गुढी- पाडवा). Marwari, people of Rajasthan celebrate the same day as their New Year day Thapna. Sindhis, people from Sindh, celebrate the same day as their New Year day Cheti Chand. Manipuris also celebrate their New Year (Sajibu nongma panba) on the same day.
The Kannada, Tulu, Marathi, Telugu and the Konkani diaspora in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala celebrate the festival with great fanfare; gatherings of the extended family and a sumptuous feast are 'de rigueur'. The day, begins with ritual showers (oil bath) followed by prayers.
