Every year,for Telugu New Year’s Day,popularly known as Ugadi,my mum prepares a Chutney, also called Ugadi Pachadi.It consists of all flavours known to us.It is prepared using water, tamrind pulp,sugar ,salt,green chillies,finely chopped raw mango and most importantly, Neem flowers.This special chutney has all the flavours,namely sweet,salty,tangy,bitter and spicy thus representing the bitter sweet experiences of life.

As a child,I enjoyed having the Chutney but I always requested mum not to add Neem flowers as they left a bitter taste in the mouth which wasn’t desirable.But mum would explain the importance and relevance of Neem flowers as an ingredient.

As the year 2017 almost comes to end,I can’t help but remember the bitter-sweet experiences of this year.It actually looks like the Ugadi chutney to me.Each flavour representing the similar kind of experience I had, and the lessons learnt from them.

Taking the tradition further,I too prepare the Ugadi chutney every year on Ugadi.I did once give a thought whether to add Neem flowers or not.I realised that just as life is unpredictable,so is the Chutney.Which flavour would hit the taste buds first, is not known.Also life cannot be enjoyed fully without seeing the ups-downs.Similarly,the chutney cannot be enjoyed without all the flavours.

I hope the year 2018 too would be a mixed bag of different colours and flavours.