When it comes to important festivals of Andhra Pradesh, we’re talking of India. India is a country you just can’t go wrong with when it comes to tourism, culture, festivals, and overall, good traditions that have endured despite difficulties for thousands of years. Every year, thousands of tourists from all over the world flock the Indian streets just to be able to experience the sublime culture that these festivals have to offers that we so often take for granted these days.

Many from all around the world are keen on learning about the Indian culture of festivals, especially of South India. It’s one of the oldest places in India and is a rich source for all the sweet festivals that you’re looking to learn more about.

One of the most famous places in South India is the state of Andhra Pradesh. Housing the famous cities of Hyderabad, Amaravati, Visakhapatnam; this state has a history of very important festivals of South India.

So, without further ado, let’s talk about festivals. Here are:

The 5 Most Important Festivals of Andhra Pradesh

1.Sankranti

Pongal, or Sankranti, is one of the largest festivals in India, celebrated in different states with unique flavors of their own. It is one of the most important festivals of Andhra Pradesh. This is a Hindu festival and is dedicated to the Sun god or Surya deva.

Pongal is a harvest festival and is celebrated in the early stages of Rabi crop in the second week of January. This time signifies socializing with family and friends and just simply enjoying after all the hard work that goes into agriculture.

People dress up as ancient characters depicted in mythology, and guests are invited over for feasts.

Being a very important festival of Andhra Pradesh, Pongal is celebrated for four days here. They are in order – Bhogi, Makara Sankranti (The main day), Kanuma, and Mukkanuma.

Bhogi

The first day that sets off this important festival of Andhra Pradesh is Bhogi. This is the day when people discard derelict and old items and set their minds on new things. They focus on causing a transformation and change all around. At the crack of dawn, people come out and light a huge bonfire, with logs, fuels, old furniture, and generally old things that they want to burn to pave the way for new things to take the stage in their lives.

Makara Sankranti

The second and the most important day of this festival is Makara Sankranti. People all over wear new clothes, offer prayers to God, make offerings and sacrifices of food made of recipes that have been handed down by generations to ancestors.

Rangoli or Muggu is an ornate drawing that people make on the ground in the form of floral patterns with white or colorful chalk and is a really popular tradition all over India. These drawings are often decorated with flowers. Since the agricultural community of India celebrates Pongal, they also have decorations in the form of hand-pressed cow dung known as gobbemma.

In terms of food, families prepare chakralu, chekkalu, arisalu, purnalu, bundi mithai, bundi laddu, buralu, garelu, appalu kudumulu, dappalam, and a host of other dishes that are indigenous to this region.

Kanuma

The third day is special for farmers. On this day, farmers pray to and showcase their cattle, as this is directly proportional to prosperity. Girls feed the animals as a token of gratitude and a symbol of sharing and caring.

Mukkanuma

On the fourth day of this important festival in Andhra Pradesh, farmers offer prayers to the elements of mother nature – soil, fire, wind, water, and also to the harvest. This is the day which marks the reunion of families and relatives. The specialty of this day is that people fly kites, and it is a sight to behold, especially if you’re not an Indian and have never experienced anything like this before.

2.Ugadi

Image provided by Kalyan, under Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Telangana’s New Year is called Ugadi. Celebrated at the end of March or early April, it is also one of the very important festivals of Andhra Pradesh. According to Hindu tradition, Ugadi falls on the first day of the bright half of the month of “Chaitra”.

As with any New Year event all around the world, preparations began many days ago. People clean their houses, buy new clothes, decorate the entrance of their homes with rangoli and mango leaves, as they are auspicious.

This festival is celebrated with great grandeur and purity, marked with the gathering of family members who return home in time for this festival.

The day is often kicked off by people with a ritual shower, rubbing fragranced oil on the body, followed by prayers to the Gods in temples.

A symbolic dish prepared by the people steals the spotlight of this show and goes by the name of Ugadi Pachadi. The essence of this dish is that it contains bitter, sweet, sour, and salty ingredients, which gives it a unique flavor. This dish stands as a metaphor for the complexities of life, as it contains all the flavors that can ever be experienced and justifies its place on our list as one of the most important festivals of Andhra Pradesh.

You can make the dish if you want from this link: https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/ugadi-recipes-andhra-festival-recipes/.

In Telugu, the greeting for “Happy New Year” is “Nutana Samavastara,” which translates into Greetings on the New Year. Other regional phrases do exist, as well. As you can see from the length of this portion, Sankranti is a pretty important festival of Andhra Pradesh.

3.Deccan Festival

Pic courtesy: Deccan Herald

Markedone of the most important festivals of Andhra Pradesh, the Deccan Festival is one of the most vibrant, colorful, and sense-overwhelming festivals. This festival is exclusive to the city of Hyderabad and takes for five days. Organized by the Tourism Department of Andhra Pradesh, you’ll be left in awe at this festival, whose main purpose is to keep the tradition and culture of the Deccan area alive. The origins of the festival indicate the cause of the celebration, which is to rejoice to the era of Qutab Shahi.

The fair showcases the passion for literature and art. The local people gather to give performances.

This includes Ghazal nights, along with mushairas, and qawwalis, that reflect the old traditions of the bygone Qutab Shahi era. Many fairs are held in the city selling shining pearls, multi-colored bangles, toys for kids, and plenty of other things. It’s a treat for the senses, and it’s to get pleasantly overwhelmed by the vibrant colors and smell bombarding the senses all at once.

A food festival is also arranged where the visitors can get a good taste of the renowned delicacies of Hyderabad and is probably the sole reason why this is one of the most important festivals of Andhra Pradesh.

4.Visakha Utsav

Shifting gears, now we’re in the city of Visakhapatnam, where the Visakha Utsav is another of the very important festivals of Andhra Pradesh. It is of paramount significance in the city of Visakhapatnam. This festival is mainly geared towards displaying the cuisine, the culture, arts and crafts, of the historic town.

It’s a three-day-long festival and is organized by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department.

It begins on the third Friday in the month of December and concludes on Sunday of the very same week.

There are fairs held all over the city where the artisans get a chance to display their craftsmanship. This is a genuine way of displaying and reliving the age-old traditions and history of the city of Visakhapatnam.

These are followed by cultural activities, dances, exhibitions of traditional garments, crafts, heritage tours, sports, and even a glamorous flower show. This festival attracts tourists from all over the world every year.

5.Tirupati Tirumala Brahmotsavam

Pic courtesy: https://pedia.desibantu.com/visvamella-nee/

This one of the most important festivals of Andhra Pradesh, as Tirupati Tirumala Brahmotsavam is very auspicious and attracts devotees from all over India and even beyond. It is held at the Venkateshwara Temple at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

Legend has it that Lord Brahma worshipped Sri Balaji at the holy Pushkarini River as a thank you for bolstering the future of humanity. The name “Brahmotsavam” comes from Lord Brahma, and literally means the festival of Brahma.

This festival is celebrated in the month of October, and it spans nine days. The first day of the festival marks the day when the “Anurapana” ritual is celebrated, in conjunction with Shri Vishvaksena. This ritual represents and signifies fertility, prosperity, and abundance.

During the nine days of this important festival in Andhra Pradesh, various yagnas take place, along with daily processions, where idols of Gods are taken out on to the streets in chariots, or vahanas that are usually kept at the temples.

As thousands of devotees flock every year enjoying and participating in the abundant rituals, they come to seek the blessings of Lord Venkateshwara Swami. The most fascinating part is that a procession dedicated to him is held on Pedda Seshavahana.

It covers four streets of the temple and is continued for two hours, even after midnight. This festival serves as a way of sending thanks to God and being grateful for everything we are provided with, mainly a blessed life filled with ethics, morals, and traditions that are pure and need to be maintained for generations.

That’s a wrap for today; this concludes our journey of the five most important festivals in Andhra Pradesh. And as always, If you’re planning to come to India, or planning to come from another state to any of these important festivals of Andhra Pradesh, just remember that it will get more crowded than usual, but it’s generally calm and organized, so there’s not a whole lot of reason to panic. Just keep a straight head, and you should have one of the loveliest experiences of your entire life, here in Andhra Pradesh.

Icy Tales

Last Updated on August 25, 2023 by ritukhare