Context: Recently, the President of India greeted people on the occasion of Vaisakhi, Vishu, Rongali Bihu, Naba Barsha, Vaisakhadi, Puthandu, Pirappu, which are being celebrated in different parts of the country on 13th and 14th April, 2020.

About Baisakhi

• Also known as Vaisakhi, it is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
• It is a spring harvest festival for the Sikhs.
• Baisakhi also commemorates the formation of Khalsa Panth by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

About Rongali Bihu 

• Assam celebrates Bihu thrice in a year but Rongali Bihu is the biggest and most popular.
• Rongali or the Bohag (spring) Bihu starts on the last day of the Assamese calendar month of Chot, which normally falls on April 13 or 14 annually.

About Poila Boishakh

• Also known as Pahela Baishakh or Bangla Nababarsha, it is the first day of Bengali Calendar.

About Mahabishuva Sankranti

• On the same day, Odisha celebrates Mahabisuha Sankranti, better known as Pana Sankranti.

About Puthandu

• Puthandu in Tamil Nadu marks the first day of the Tamil New Year.

About Vishu

• Vishu in Kerala marks the completion of the spring equinox. But unlike Onam, the other harvest festival, Vishu is a quieter affair, with Lord Vishnu in his Krishna avatar, the presiding deity of the festivities. Malayalis observe the ritual of ‘Vishukanni’.

About Bikhoti 

• The Bikhoti Festival of Uttrakhand involves people taking a dip in holy rivers.

About Jurshital

• In the Mithal region of Bihar and Nepal, the New Year is celebrated as Jurshital.

About Aadi Perukku

• Commonly known as the Aadi monsoon festival, it is a Tamil festival celebrated to pay tribute to water’s life-sustaining properties.