Vasant Panchami — the fifth day of the bright half of Magha, usually in late January or February — marks the arrival of spring. In North India the mustard fields are in full yellow bloom, and so, it seems, is everyone: yellow clothes, yellow sweets, yellow flowers.
Saraswati Puja
The day is dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. Students place their books, pens and instruments before her to be blessed, and many young children write their first letters on this day in a ceremony called vidyarambh or akshar abhyasam.
In Bengal, Odisha and Assam, Saraswati Puja is a major festival: schools and colleges set up idols, students dress up — girls famously in their first saree — and there are cultural programmes all day.
Basant in Punjab
In Punjab, the day is Basant, celebrated with kite flying, yellow clothes and yellow rice.
Why yellow?
Yellow is Saraswati’s colour and the colour of the ripening mustard. Families cook yellow dishes — kesar halwa, meethe chawal (sweet saffron rice), boondi, khichdi — and offer yellow flowers like marigold.
What to wear for Vasant Panchami
- Yellow, of course: mustard, haldi, lemon, marigold — any shade works, alone or with white, green or a touch of pink.
- Light fabrics: the days are getting warmer — cotton and mulmul in yellow are perfect; keep a light layer for the cool evening.
- For Saraswati Puja: a yellow or white kurta set with a printed dupatta; in Bengal, a yellow or white-and-red saree.
Look for yellows across our collections.
Vasant Panchami ki shubhkamnayein — hello, yellow.
