Decorated homes, busy temples and shared feasts mark Ugadi in Hyderabad

Decorated homes, busy temples and shared feasts mark Ugadi in Hyderabad

Hyderabad slipped into a quieter rhythm on Thursday as homes, temples and markets came alive to celebrate Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, observed alongside Gudi Padwa, each marking the first day of the Chaitra month and the beginning of a new agricultural cycle.

At daybreak, the city stirred not with traffic, but with the soft sweep of brooms and the splash of water at thresholds. In neighbourhoods from Turkamjyal to Ramanthapur, Banjara Hills to Kondapur, doorsteps turned into canvases of intricate rangoli, framed by festoons of mango leaves and marigold garlands. Some homes built elaborate entrances with banana stems and bamboo.

Devotees offer prayers at a temple in Hyderabad on the occasion of Ugadi in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR

Temples drew long queues from the early hours, as families in new clothes waited patiently for a glimpse of the deity, seeking blessings for the year ahead. Outside homes, those celebrating Gudi Padwa raised the ‘gudi’, a decorated bamboo staff crowned with an upturned pot, wrapped in bright cloth and adorned with neem and mango leaves, standing tall as a symbol of renewal and prosperity.

The festive mood had been building since the previous day. Markets around Charminar and Begum Bazaar buzzed with last-minute shoppers picking up neem flowers, raw mangoes and jaggery, while Laad Bazaar glittered with bangles and Madina saw a steady stream of saree buyers. With Ramzan coinciding, the usually busy Moazzam Jahi Market was especially crowded, as people bought mangoes and flowers, blending the spirit of two observances into one shared public space.

People shop Mango leaves ahead of Ugadi festival at Badichowdi Market in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR