Decorated homes, busy temples and shared feasts mark Ugadi in Hyderabad

Hyderabad slipped into a quieter rhythm on Thursday as homes, temples and markets came alive to celebrate Ugadi, the Telugu New Year, observed alongside Gudi Padwa, each marking the first day of the Chaitra month and the beginning of a new agricultural cycle.

At daybreak, the city stirred not with traffic, but with the soft sweep of brooms and the splash of water at thresholds. In neighbourhoods from Turkamjyal to Ramanthapur, Banjara Hills to Kondapur, doorsteps turned into canvases of intricate rangoli, framed by festoons of mango leaves and marigold garlands. Some homes built elaborate entrances with banana stems and bamboo.