As I woke up this morning, I was greeted by my daughter, Radhika Bansal‘s WhatsApp message, Happy New Year; after her grandmother wished her and she passed on the wishes to me.
I found myself momentarily taken aback. It had slipped my mind. Today marks the onset of the Hindu New Year 2081, the first day of the Chaitra month, also commencing the auspicious Navratri – ‘nine nights’ dedicated to adoring Goddess Durga in all her divine forms. On this occasion, I extend my heartfelt wishes for abundant joy, prosperity, good health and spiritual enlightenment to all.
Contemplating the intriguing coexistence of 2081 in the Hindu calendar and 2024 in the ‘English’ or ‘Western” calendar led me to find my trusted companion Google.
The Hindu calendar, also known as Vikram Samvat, is believed to have been started around 57 BCE marking the coronation of the legendary King Vikramaditya of Ujjain.
On the other hand, the Western calendar, known as the Gregorian calendar, was formalized in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. The interesting fact is that ten days were skipped to realign this calendar with the inception date October 15, 1582. The starting point of this calendar, as most of us might know, is the birth of Lord Jesus Christ on January 1st, 1 AD.
This clarifies the deviation of approximately 57-58 years between the Hindu and Western calendars.
Before these calendars, various time-tracking systems prevailed across the globe, constituting a diverse array of measurements, from Hebrew, to Chinese and Buddhist.
As we celebrate the Hindu New Year 2081 and the festival of Navratri, let’s just honour these chronologies that resonates through the fabric of time.