Telugu families love a good festival, and there's one around almost every corner of the calendar. Whether you've been invited to a friend's home for Sankranti, you're celebrating Ugadi with your partner's family, you've joined the crowds for Bonalu in Hyderabad, a few words of Telugu will make you a very welcome guest.
This guide walks you through the major Telugu festivals - why they're celebrated, how they're celebrated, the words you'll hear, and exactly how to wish someone on the day. After that, you'll find easy phrases for any festival or family gathering: blessings, compliments, photos, food, polite refusals, introductions and goodbyes.
How to Wish Someone on Any Telugu Festival
Here's the best part: one simple pattern works for almost every festival.
[Festival name] + shubhākānkshalu (best wishes)
- Ugādi shubhākānkshalu! - Happy Ugadi!
- Sankrānti shubhākānkshalu! - Happy Sankranti!
A few more ways to wish people:
- Panḍuga shubhākānkshalu! - Happy festival! (panḍuga means festival, so this works for any of them)
- Mīku, mī kuṭumbāniki [festival] shubhākānkshalu! - Wishing you and your family a happy [festival]! (A warm, complete greeting for elders and the family you're visiting)
Words You'll Hear at Any Telugu Festival
- Panḍuga - Festival
- Kuṭumbam - Family
- Chuṭṭālu - Relatives
- Kotta baṭṭalu - New clothes. Wearing new clothes is a big part of almost every festival.
- Muggu - The colourful patterns drawn with rice flour or powder in front of homes
- Pūja - Prayer or worship
- Prasādam - Food offered to God and then shared with everyone
- Pindivanṭalu - Festival sweets and snacks, usually made at home
Major Telugu Festivals, Explained
Here are the festivals you're most likely to celebrate with Telugu friends and family, in the order they come in the Telugu year. Customs differ a little from family to family and region to region, but this is what you can expect.
Ugadi (Telugu New Year) - March or April
Why it's celebrated: Ugadi is the Telugu New Year, and it marks the start of a new year in the Telugu calendar. The name comes from yuga (age) and ādi (beginning).
How it's celebrated: Families start the day with an oil bath and new clothes, decorate their doorways with mango leaves, and draw muggulu outside the home. The main ritual of the day is having Ugādi pachchaḍi, a special mix of six tastes:
Sweet jaggery
Sour tamarind
Bitter neem flowers
Salt
Spicy chilli or pepper
Tangy raw mango
It's a reminder that the new year will bring a bit of everything - sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and so on. It is all part of life. In the evening, many people gather for Panchānga shravaṇam, an astrological reading of what the new year has in store for them as per their respective birth date and star positions.
Words to know:
- Ugādi pachchaḍi - The six-taste Ugadi dish
- Vēpa puvvu - Neem flowers
- Māmiḍi ākulu - Mango leaves, strung over doorways as a tōraṇam (festive garland)
- Panchāngam - The traditional almanac
How to wish someone: Ugādi shubhākānkshalu!
Sri Rama Navami - March or April
Why it's celebrated: Sri Rama Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama.
How it's celebrated: The highlight is the Sītārāmula kaḷyāṇam, a grand ceremonial wedding of Rama and Sita, held at temples and in many neighbourhoods. The most famous one takes place at Bhadrachalam in Telangana. Families visit temples, and everyone gets a glass of pānakam and some vaḍapappu - perfect for the summer heat.
Words to know:
- Sītārāmula kaḷyāṇam - The ceremonial wedding of Sita and Rama
- Pānakam - A cooling drink of jaggery, water, pepper and cardamom
- Vaḍapappu - Soaked moong dal, served as prasādam
How to wish someone: Shrī Rāma Navami shubhākānkshalu!
Bonalu - July or August
Why it's celebrated: Bonalu is Hyderabad's very own festival and the state festival of Telangana. It honours Goddess Mahankali and other forms of the Mother Goddess, thanking her for protecting families and asking for her blessings.
How it's celebrated: Women carry a bōnam on their heads to the temple - a pot of rice cooked with milk and jaggery, decorated with neem leaves and turmeric, with a lamp on top. The streets fill with drums, dancing and processions. You'll see Pothuraju or Potraj, the goddess's brother, dancing at the front, and on the last day there's the Rangam, where a prophecy for the year ahead is announced.
Words to know:
- Bōnam - The pot of food offered to the goddess (Bōnālu is the plural)
- Pōtarāju - The goddess's brother, who leads the procession
- Rangam - The prophecy for the coming year
- Ghaṭam - A decorated pot carried in procession
How to wish someone: Bōnālu shubhākānkshalu!
Varalakshmi Vratam - August
Why it's celebrated: On Varalakshmi Vratam, women pray to Goddess Lakshmi for the health, wealth and happiness of their families. It falls on the Friday before the full moon in the month of Shrāvaṇam.
How it's celebrated: A kalasham (sacred pot) is decorated to look like the goddess, and the women of the house perform the pūja together. They tie a sacred yellow thread called a tōram around their wrists. Women from the neighbourhood are invited home for a pērantam and sent off with tāmbūlam - a small gift of betel leaves, fruit, turmeric and kumkum.
Words to know:
- Kalasham - The sacred pot, decorated as the goddess
- Tōram - The sacred thread tied on the wrist
- Pērantam - A gathering of women invited home
- Tāmbūlam - The small gift given to guests
How to wish someone: Varalakshmī vratam shubhākānkshalu!
Vinayaka Chavithi / Ganesh Chaturthi - August or September
Why it's celebrated: Vinayaka Chavithi celebrates the birth of Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, who is prayed to before any new beginning - also called Vinayaka, Ganapati, and several other names.
How it's celebrated: Families bring home a clay Ganesha idol and worship it with patri, a mix of 21 kinds of leaves. They make his favourite sweets, undraallu, kudumulu and modakaalu, and listen to the story of Ganesha. Tradition says you shouldn't look at the moon that night! Across the city, huge idols go up in pandals, and after a few days they're carried out in big processions for nimajjanam / visarjana (immersion in water). Hyderabad's giant Khairatabad Ganesh is famous across the country.
Words to know:
- Patri - The leaves offered in the pūja
- Unḍrāḷḷu / Kuḍumulu - Steamed rice dumplings, Ganesha's favourite
- Nimajjanam - The immersion of the idol at the end of the festival. Telugu term for visarjana
How to wish someone: Vināyaka Chavithi shubhākānkshalu!
Bathukamma - September or October
Why it's celebrated: Bathukamma is Telangana's colourful floral festival, celebrating life, womanhood and the goddess Gauri. The name means "Mother Goddess, come alive".
How it's celebrated: For nine days, women stack seasonal flowers into beautiful cone-shaped towers called Bathukammas. In the evenings, they place them in the middle of a circle and dance around them, clapping and singing Bathukamma songs. On the last day, the flowers are gently floated away in a lake or pond.
Words to know:
- Tangēḍu puvvulu - Golden yellow tangedu flowers, the state flower of Telangana
- Banti puvvulu - Marigolds
- Engili pūla Batukamma - The first day of the festival
- Saddula Batukamma - The grand last day
How to wish someone: Batukamma shubhākānkshalu!
Dasara - September or October
Why it's celebrated: Dasara (also called Vijayadashami) celebrates the victory of good over evil - Goddess Durga's victory over the demon Mahishasura, and Rama's victory over Ravana. It comes at the end of the nine nights of Navaratri.
How it's celebrated: Temples are packed through Navaratri, and the celebrations at the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada draw huge crowds. Many Andhra homes set up a bommala koluvu, a display of colourful dolls on steps. The dolls usually pertain to various characters and stories of Hindu mythology and the bommala koluvu is a fun way for children to participate in the festival and learn more about the mythology and traditions.
On Dasara day, people perform āyudha pūja, a ritual to show gratitude and pray to their tools, books and vehicles. In Telangana, a lovely custom is exchanging leaves of the jammi tree, which are given to elders as "gold" in return for their blessings. Spotting a pālapiṭṭa (the Indian roller bird) on Dasara is considered lucky.
People start new academic pursuits like learning a new musical instrument or starting classical dance lessons, or for toddlers, writing their first letters, on Vijayadashami.
Words to know:
- Navarātrulu - The nine nights before Dasara
- Bommala koluvu - A display of dolls arranged on steps
- Jammi ākulu - Leaves of the jammi tree, exchanged as "gold"
- Āyudha pūja - Worship of tools, books and vehicles
How to wish someone: Dasarā shubhākānkshalu! or Vijayadashami shubhākānkshalu!
Deepavali - October or November
Why it's celebrated: Deepavali (Telugu name for Diwali), the festival of lights, celebrates the victory of light over darkness. In Telugu homes, it's linked to the story of Krishna and Satyabhama defeating the demon Narakasura. The day before Deepavali, Naraka Chaturdashi, marks that victory.
How it's celebrated: Homes are lit up with rows of clay lamps, families wear new clothes, share sweets with neighbours, and stay up late bursting crackers.
Words to know:
- Pramidalu / Dīpālu - Clay lamps
- Ṭapāsulu / Paṭākīlu - Firecrackers
- Naraka Chaturdashi - The day before Deepavali
How to wish someone: Dīpāvaḷi shubhākānkshalu!
Sankranti - January
Why it's celebrated: Sankranti is the biggest festival of the year for many Telugu families, especially in Andhra Pradesh. It's a harvest festival that thanks nature, the sun and the cattle for a good harvest, and it marks the sun's movement into Makara (Capricorn). It's celebrated over three or four days, and many people travel back to their hometowns to celebrate with family.
How it's celebrated:
- Bhōgi (day 1): Families light a bonfire before dawn and throw old things into it, making way for the new. In the evening, young children are showered with Bhōgi paḷḷu (small berries mixed with coins and flowers) for good luck.
- Sankranti (day 2): The main day. Huge, colourful muggulu go up in front of every home, decorated with gobbemmalu (little mounds topped with flowers). Families cook pongali and pindivanṭalu like ariselu, and in the villages you'll see Haridāsulu singing devotional songs and Gangireddulu, decorated bulls that "dance" to music. In Hyderabad, the sky fills with kites.
- Kanuma (day 3): A day to honour the cattle that help with the harvest. They're bathed, decorated and fed well.
Some communities in Andhra Pradesh display their bommala koluvu or the arrangement of dolls kept on steps during Sankranti instead of during Dasara.
Words to know:
- Bhōgi manṭalu - The Bhogi bonfire
- Gobbemmalu - Little mounds placed on the muggulu
- Gālipaṭālu - Kites
- Ariselu - A sweet made of rice flour and jaggery
- Gangireddulu - Decorated bulls
How to wish someone: Sankrānti shubhākānkshalu! On the first day, you can say Bhōgi shubhākānkshalu!
Maha Shivaratri - February or March
Why it's celebrated: Maha Shivaratri is the great night of Lord Shiva.
How it's celebrated: Many people fast through the day and stay awake through the night in prayer, a practice called jāgaraṇa. Temples hold special abhishēkam (ritual bathing of the Shiva lingam), and famous temples like Srisailam see huge crowds.
Words to know:
- Upavāsam - Fasting
- Jāgaraṇa - Staying awake through the night
- Abhishēkam - The ritual bathing of the deity
How to wish someone: Mahā Shivarātri shubhākānkshalu!
A Few More Celebrations You Might Come Across
- Krishnashtami - Krishna's birthday. Look out for uṭṭi koṭṭaḍam, where teams form human pyramids to break a pot hung high above the street.
- Atla Taddi - A festival in Andhra Pradesh where women and girls play on swings, fast for the day and offer atlu (dosas) to the goddess.
- Nāgula Chavithi - A festival where people pour milk into anthills and pray to the snake god.
- Ramzan - In Hyderabad, the Old City around Charminar comes alive at night during Ramzan, with iftar food and the city's famous haleem. You'll hear Eid Mubārak as the greeting.
- Christmas - Celebrated by many Telugu Christian families, especially in Andhra Pradesh. You'll hear Christmas shubhākānkshalu.
Blessings and Well-Wishes in Telugu
At festivals, elders bless younger members, and younger people touch elders' feet to ask for their blessings. A few lines you'll hear and use:
- Challagā unḍu - Stay well. A gentle, all-purpose blessing elders give to youngsters.
- Nūrēḷḷu challagā unḍu - Live happily for a hundred years. A classic blessing from elders.
- Āshīrvadinchanḍi - Please bless me. Said when you touch an elder's feet.
- Dhanyavādālu - Thank you
How to Compliment the Occasion in Telugu
- Chālā andangā unnāru - You're looking very beautiful. A lovely thing to say to an aunty in a new saree.
- Kotta baṭṭalu chālā bāgunnāyi - Your new clothes look great. A safe bet on any festival day.
- Muggu chālā bāgundi - The muggu or rangoli looks beautiful. Whoever drew it will be thrilled.
- Panḍuga chālā bāgā jarigindi - The festival went really well. A good line for wrapping up a conversation with your hosts.
How to Talk About Photos and Group Moments
Every festival and family gathering turns into a round of photos, so a few lines will help you join in.
- Oka photo tīddām - Let's take a photo
- Andarū kalisi niluchōnḍi - Everyone stand together
- Navvanḍi! - Smile!
Navigating the Food
Food is at the heart of every Telugu festival, and your hosts will show their love by feeding you a little more than you planned. These phrases will help you enjoy it with grace.
- Bhōjanam ayindā? - Have you eaten? Often shortened to "bōn chēsārā?". It's less about hunger and more of a friendly check-in, so expect every aunt and uncle to ask.
- Pindivanṭalu chālā bāgunnāyi - The festival sweets are delicious. The perfect compliment for whoever made them.
- Inkoncham kāvāli - I want a little more
- Chālu, chālu! - Enough, enough! Crucial survival vocabulary. You'll often need to say it twice, quickly, with a hand over your plate.
- Chālā ruchigā undi - It's very tasty
Polite Refusals: How to Say No Respectfully
- Waddu, parvālēdu - No, it's alright. A soft, polite refusal that works much better than a flat waddu.
- Kaḍupu ninḍindi - My stomach is full. The only acceptable excuse to stop eating at a Telugu festival.
- Koncham mellagā cheppanḍi - Please say it a little slowly. Perfect when an excited relative is speaking Telugu to you at lightning speed.
Introducing Yourself in Telugu
Festivals bring people and families together, so you'll meet many people in your extended family, apartment complex or neighbourhood that you don't regularly get to see.
- Namaskāram, nā pēru [Name] - Hello, my name is [Name]
- Nēnu [City]-lō unṭānu - I live in [City]. For example: Nēnu London-lō unṭānu.
- Nēnu [Profession]-gā pani chēstunnānu - I work as a [Profession]. It's perfectly fine to use the English word for your job.
- Gurtu undi - I remember. Use it when an elder asks if you remember them. Even if you don't, simply say yes!
What to Say in Telugu When Leaving
Leaving a Telugu home after a festival can take a while, with many goodbyes along the way. Instead of a flat "I'm going", Telugu speakers say they'll go and come back.
- Veḷḷi vastānu / Veḷḷostānu - I'll take my leave (literally, I'll go and come back)
- Maḷḷī kaluddām - Let's meet again
Want to Follow the Conversation, Not Just the Phrases?
A few phrases will get you through a festival. To really join in the conversations around you, a little structure helps.
If you want to progress from phrases and words to having real conversations in Telugu, a bit of structure makes a big difference. Start with Bhashafy's Complete Telugu Course for Beginners and see how far a little consistency can take you.
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Thank you, or as we say in Telugu - Dhanyavādālu!
