Ugadi Pacchadi, 1999

The calendar
by birthright and mother tongue
that I call mine
doesn't have a scary millennium,
waiting beyond the brink.

The rituals
I these days follow
for release, money and the release of money
don't know any falls,
I alone walk the edge.

This new year
has to taste different
last year's sourness cannot be bittered
and this spoonful of sweetness, like a day
can't stay on as a permanent aftertaste.

From Moving On

As indicated by the title of the poem, it was written on Ugadi, 1999 (yes, I know it seems almost a lifetime back). Ugadi (March 16th, this year) is Telugu New Year day (as opposed to January 1st) when a Pacchadi (chutney / mixture) is made and eaten across all Telugu (and Kannada) households.

Apart from being deliciously tasty, the Pacchadi's ingredients themselves are supposed to be indicative of the overall balance of life. As such it comprises of the sweet (jaggery / sugar, banana, other fruits ), the sour (tamarind / raw mango), the bitter (neem flowers), the salty (salt) and the hot (green chillies).

Please do note that this is basically a simplistic explanation, there may be deeper meanings in that spoon of Pacchadi.

"Bittered" in the poem is not a typo, its word play :-)

Kaliyugabdi 5,111 Ugadi Subhakanshalu