Although I have lived in Mumbai all my life (almost), my earliest clear memory of Gudi Padwa (or Gudhi Padwa as the right pronunciation is) is the fact that I had a chutti in school. We lived in a large colony of Malayalee Christians in Chembur and nobody there seemed to know the significance of this festival.

If was finally in standard eighth after we shifted to a Maharashtrian neighbourhood in Kalyan that I realised that it's such an important festival for the Maharashtrians. The festival marks the arrival of spring (not that it makes any difference in our Mumbai weather!)

There are so many little stories associated with it's origin, starting right from the creation of the world by Brahma after the deluge to the coronation of Lord Rama.

The market place is filled with the sweet smell of jackfuits and the first mangoes have started to arrive.

When in Kalyan, I loved the sight of shiny copper pots and bright yellow zari cloth hung on bamboo sticks outside windows and balconies. Most of all I used to love the delicacies that were sent to our house by our neighbour. Puran Poli and shrikhand-puri were the main items.

These sights may be missing in the place I stay currently, but these memories are enough to cheer me up.

Happy Gudhi Padwa!