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Gujarati New Year (Bestu Varas)
The first day of the Vikram Samvat year for Gujaratis, kept the day after Diwali, with new clothes and bandhani or Patan patola.
What is worn for Gujarati New Year (Bestu Varas)
Bestu Varas is the Gujarati new year, falling on the day after Diwali in the Vikram Samvat calendar. Families wake early, put on new clothes, visit temples and call on relatives and friends with the greeting "Saal Mubarak". Business families open new account books, a custom called chopda pujan, kept on Diwali evening. For women the day is a chance to wear the best of Gujarati textiles: a bandhani saree, a gharchola, or for those who own one, a Patan patola, the double ikat silk of north Gujarat. The date is the same as Govardhan Puja in the north, and may differ by a day between calendars.
The sarees
Also part of it, and being written: Patola (The double ikat silk of Patan in north Gujarat.).
Written by the EveryPallu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Govardhan Puja" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.