The Telugu almanac or ‘Panchangam’ envisages bountiful year for the Telangana State, political decisions that favour women, and a place of pride for India in the fields of technology, medicine and education.
On the negative side, the ‘Panchanga Sravanam’, recital of the predictions for Telugu New Year, for the year named ‘Vikari’, organised by the Department of Culture on Saturday, predicted crisis in the banking sector and tumultuous share market.
The Ugadi celebrations marking the first day of the year at Ravindra Bharathi had Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi unveiling the Telugu calendar, and listening to the predictions.
Clad in traditional silk dhoti, Mr. Joshi wished everyone a year filled with joy, and said life was akin to ‘Ugadi Pachhadi’, a delicacy prepared with neem flower, jaggery, tamarind and raw mango. One must accept and relish all the tastes with equanimity.
Copious rain
Baanchampalli Santhosh Kumar Shastri, who read out the almanac, predicted copious rain this year, but more often untimely. There would be showers in October, and the southwest monsoon would be delayed, hence farmers should sow their crop carefully. The year would be good for agriculture and manufacturing sectors, and interest on housing loans would come down. On the flip side, trade would see highs and lows, and higher education sector would witness scams.
Price rise
Chronic ailments, natural calamities, and price rise too were foretold, even while assurances were given that the State would tide over all the negative impacts through appropriate relief measures. Utmost caution should be exercised with respect to law and order, and there are indications of skirmishes with the neighbouring countries. Heaping praise on the Telangana State, the priest said the ‘king’ (Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao) and his ‘minister’ (Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi) shared the same birth star and sign, which augurs well for the governance.
Vedic scholars from the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple of Yadadri showered blessings on the Chief Secretary at the event, also attended by Principal Secretary C. Parthasarathi, senior IAS officer Adhar Sinha, Director of Culture Mamidi Harikrishna, and BC Commission Chairperson B.S. Ramulu.
