Brahma ji is said to have started the world on this day, which is why it is called yuga-adi, the beginning of an age.
A house begins it with a bowl that has neem flower in it for the bitter, raw mango for the sour, tamarind for the sharp, jaggery for the sweet, salt, and green chilli for the heat. It is eaten first, before the sweet.
Nobody pretends it is pleasant. It is a way of saying, on the first morning, that the year will have all six and the house has agreed to it in advance.
