NAVREH (New Year Day) for Kashmiri Pandits ! - Significance
NAVREH (New Year Day) for Kashmiri Pandits ! First Navratra is a special day for Pandits from Kashmir. It's NAVREH (New Year Day) in Kashmir. On this day the new almanac, the annual calendar with new astronomical data and lot of other information commences for the new Hindu calendar year. With this day the most soothing season of the year, the spring starts with a renewed life. The nature wears a new look. Fresh fragrance of new flowers fill the air immediately after snow melts in Kashmir. Navreh is also a celebration of an escape from the clutches of the severe cold of winter with a new lease of life and a season of regeneration and fertility. Prior to the festival the family elder brings in the new almanac (Panchang) of the New Year, called Janthari in Kashmiri. On the night prior to Navreh the eldest lady of the house fills a big plate (Thali) with uncooked rice and arranges various items on it. The new Janthari occupies an important place with a twig of fresh