Saal Mubarak! Nutan Varsha Abhinandan! Welcome Vikram Samvat 2083!
Wishing everyone a very Happy Gujarati New Year. May the coming year bring happiness, good health, peace and prosperity.
Growing up in a Gujarati family in Kenya, New Year’s Day, or Bestu Varas, was always a special occasion. It wasn’t just about celebrating the beginning of another year. It was about family, friends, food, blessings and following traditions that had been passed down through generations. My son suggested that I should share my memories as he is keen to preserve the tradition. And as usual my memories revolve around food. So Raj -this is for you
I have so many lovely memories of how we celebrated New Year in Kenya and how I continued many of these traditions after moving to the UK.
Getting ready for the New Year
We would get up early, dress in our best clothes and sometimes even wear something new. There was a lovely excitement about the day. When we were young, we weren’t that well off so sometimes we only got new clothes etc. for Diwali and New Year. It felt special as we didn’t know any different.
In Gujarati households, there were certain things we believed brought good luck. One belief was that whatever you did on New Year’s Day would continue throughout the year. It was therefore considered auspicious to go to work, open your business or open your shop. You certainly didn’t want to be lazy on the first day of the year!
Even in the UK, I continued this tradition. I would wake up early, put on my saree, seek blessings from my in-laws by doing page lagwanu (touching their feet), and then change into my work clothes and go to work.
Looking back, I smile at how determined I was to start the year productively!
Seeking blessings from elders
We lived in a joint family, and one of the important New Year traditions was seeking blessings from the elders.
I would wear my saree, cover my head with my pallu and bow down to touch the feet of my in-laws as a mark of respect.
In return, the elders would bless us and give us some money or even gold jewellery. My father-in-law was particularly generous!
It was a lovely tradition and something I remember fondly.
Times have changed now. The younger generation in my family don’t necessarily follow the custom of touching elders’ feet, but I still make sure I bless them and give them some money on New Year’s Day. The gestures may have changed, but the love and blessings remain.
What do we cook on Gujarati New Year’s Day?
Food is, of course, an important part of any Gujarati celebration!
There were certain foods we were traditionally told NOT to cook on Bestu Varas. In our family, these included rotli, kadhi and dudh pak. If anyone remembers why we don’t make rotli and make puris instead, do share.
I never really knew the reason behind avoiding rotli, but there was an interesting explanation for avoiding kadhi and dudh pak.
Both involve ukad wanu – boiling or simmering for a long time. The word ukado can also be associated with getting angry, losing your temper or having an outburst. Our elders believed that we should avoid an ukado on New Year’s Day, so that we wouldn’t carry that association into the year ahead!
Instead, cooking okra curry (bhinda nu shak) or mung curry (mag nu shaak) was considered lucky. I guess its because green is an auspicious colour? Again, be nice if any of you know the reason for choosing these two. And, of course, there was always some mithai to make the day sweet!
okra or bhinda
Since okra curry is considered a lucky dish to cook on Bestu Varas in our family, I thought I’d share my simple Bhinda nu Shak recipe with you. This is an old-fashioned recipe inspired by the way my mum used to cook it.
These were the traditions I grew up with, although customs can differ from one Gujarati family to another.
Buying salt and mung beans
Another tradition is buying salt (nimak, also called mithu) and whole green mung beans (mag) on Bestu Varas.
I find the Gujarati word mithu particularly interesting because it means both salt and sweet! Perhaps it is because salt brings out the flavours and makes food taste nice. Buying salt early on New Year’s morning is considered auspicious. It symbolises bringing all the good flavours of life, prosperity and abundance into the home.
Green mung beans are associated with new growth, health and abundance. Bringing a fresh packet into the kitchen symbolises a healthy and thriving household for the year ahead.
Some families also buy a new broom (savarni) to symbolically sweep away the old and welcome prosperity. In UK, I continue to buy the salt and mung beans, although I don’t follow the broom tradition.
I love how even ordinary household shopping can have a special meaning on New Year’s Day!
The traditional mukhwas tray
One thing I particularly remember was preparing the mukhwas tray for visitors on New Year.
It was a round tray divided into five or six little compartments. Each section was filled with different treats such as sopari, suva dana, nuts, sweets and sometimes sakar (sugar crystals).
When visitors came to wish us a happy New Year, we would offer them something from the tray. It was a small gesture of hospitality, but an important part of welcoming people into our home.
Saal Mubarak or Nutan Varsha Abhinandan?
Growing up, we always greeted each other with Saal Mubarak on Gujarati New Year’s Day. It was the greeting I heard from family, friends and neighbours, and it still feels very natural to me.
These days, there is more encouragement to use Nutan Varsha Abhinandan (નૂતન વર્ષાભિનંદન), which is considered shuddh Gujarati or pure Gujarati.
The word Mubarak has Urdu origins, and some people prefer not to use it for that reason.
Living in the UK, our celebrations have changed over the years. Rather than visiting everyone in person as we did in Kenya, we now telephone our friends and relations to wish them Nutan Varsha Abhinandan and exchange New Year greetings.
For me, Saal Mubarak will always bring back happy memories of New Year celebrations in Kenya, but I am equally happy to embrace the greetings we use today.
New Year money envelopes
There was another little tradition we followed. The day before Diwali, we would prepare envelopes containing money to give to the children as New Year blessings.
The amount always had to be an odd number. Depending on what you could afford, it might be £11, £21 or even £101. The odd number was considered auspicious.
Nowadays, things are a little different. Instead of preparing little envelopes, I simply make a bank transfer to my children!
The method may have changed, but the intention remains the same – to give them blessings, good wishes and a little something for the New Year.
More than just food and celebrations
Looking back, I realise that these traditions were about much more than what we cooked or wore.
They were about making an effort to see family and friends, respecting our elders, welcoming people into our homes, exchanging good wishes and starting the year with positivity.
Although life has changed and we may not always celebrate in exactly the same way, I try to keep these traditions alive in my own family. The younger generation may do things differently, but I hope they will remember the little gestures, the blessings and the stories behind them.
Gujarati traditions from Kenya, with a little British influence! Traditions don’t have to remain exactly the same to be passed on.
Nutan Varsha Abhinandan! May Vikram Samvat 2083 bring sweetness, peace, happiness and prosperity to everyone.
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