Changing essence of Bestu Varsh - then & now

AHMEDABAD: Wearing crisp shimmering clothes, visiting families across the city and bringing in loads of sweets - New Year celebrations is all about age-old traditions. However, the happiness and festivity over the years have moved over to make room for convenience. Many have chosen to celebrate Bestu Varsh by hanging out with close friends and families or far away from the city's noise and chaos.
"New Year was different when we were kids. We grew up in the walled-city and there was a peculiar tradition of 'Sabras' where children would go around the neighbourhood selling salt rocks. We would get 10 paisa from each house for these rocks. No one remembers these things today," reminisces 51-year-old Alka Mehta, a resident of Vastrapur.
This tradition has faded into insignificance like many other traditions over the years. Apart from these, women of the house would clean and decorate the house with flowers and diyas at four in the morning in preparation of welcoming God on the New Year.
"My mother would decorate the house with flowers, get us ready early in the morning, and preparing food for the whole family who would come from far away to meet us," says 35-year-old Avanti Joshi, a senior executive. She adds, "It's not possible for me to do all these things. It's a holiday for us, so I buy food and sweets from shops, get up late in the morning, go to our parents' place and that is the end of New Year."
"Today we have replaced family with friends and movies. Instead of eating Diwali delicacies at home and spending the evening with families, we choose to eat pizza. It's a sad but true fact," states 24-year-old Urvashi Desai, an entrepreneur.
With families spread across the globe, tiresome working hours and a monotonous life style, many forgo the festivity. "My New Year was very quiet this time. My daughter chose to stay in Pune because she didn't get leave to come home," says Jasminder Kaur.