Kashmiri Pandits have renewed their resolve to celebrate Navreh, the first day of the New Year according to the Kashmiri Hindu calendar, in the Valley from next year, terming it a symbolic step towards reconnecting with their ancestral homeland, community members said.
Navreh, which is celebrated by Kashmiri Pandits on the first day of the month of Chaitra, is traditionally dedicated to Goddess Sharika and marks the beginning of a new year in the Saptarshi calendar. The festival, which will be celebrated on March 19 this year, holds immense religious and cultural significance for the community.
“The Navreh Mahotsav is a poignant homecoming movement. The festival would be observed not only in Jammu, but in several cities across the country and abroad, reflecting widespread participation of the community,” Kashi Nath Pandita, scholar and convenor of the Navreh Mahotsav Aayojan Samiti-2026, told reporters here.
Pandita, who was awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 for his contributions in the fields of literature and education, said, “The members of the displaced community have collectively reaffirmed their resolve to return and celebrate Navreh in their ancestral birthplace in Kashmir next year.” “Navreh marks the beginning of the new year and carries deep astronomical and cultural significance. The festival traditionally begins with early morning rituals, including ‘pooja’ and ‘darshan’ of the Navreh Thali, symbolising prosperity, knowledge and continuity of life,” he said.
The second day of the celebrations, March 20, will be observed as Shaurya Divas to commemorate the valour and leadership of the 8th-century Karkota monarch of the Kashmir region, Samrat Lalitaditya.
“The concluding Mahotsav will be held at the Abhinav Theatre here, featuring cultural performances, intellectual discourses and tributes to historical icons,” Panditia said.
Co-convenor of Navreh Mahotsav Aayojan Samiti-2026, Brij Lal Bhat, said the festival symbolises the community’s aspiration to reconnect with its roots.
Bhat, a recipient of the Padma Shri award this year in the Unsung Heroes category, also called for incorporating the contributions of Acharya Shreya Bhat and Samrat Lalitaditya into the academic curriculum of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education.
The chairman of the Sanjeevani Sharda Kendra (SSK) and chief spokesperson of the Navreh Mahotsav Aayojan Samiti, M K Bharat, said that according to the Hindu calendar, Amavasya and Chaitra Shukla Pratipada fall on the same day this year, resulting in the confluence of Tyag Divas and Sankalp Divas and reducing the three-day festival to two days.
Bharat also invited all sections of society to participate in the celebrations, describing the festival as a vibrant expression of cultural resurgence, bridging the past with the future.
The Navreh Mahotsav has been organised annually since 2021, and this year marks its sixth edition, Bharat said.
Celebrating the festival in exile for decades after migrating from the Valley in the early 1990s, Kashmiri Pandits have been observing the festival in Jammu and elsewhere while simultaneously expressing a desire to return to the Valley. (Agencies)
