Atla Taddi is the festival which falls after Dasara every year. It is one of the most celebrated regional festivals of Andhra Pradesh.

 This festival is a Telugu equivalent of Karva Chauth, a prominent festival of North India.

Atla Taddi as the name suggests is base on Atlu which means Dosas. Taddi is nothing but the short form of Tadiya or third day. Atla Taddi is observed on Aswayuja Bahula or Krishna Paksha Tadiya, i.e. the third day of the wanning phase of the moon of Ashwayuja Month of the telugu calendar.

 It is celebrated on the third day after Ashwayuja Purnima, the Full Moon day in Ashwayuja masam of Telugu calendar, and falls in October as per Gregorian calendar.

The festival date in 2012 is on October 1st.

It is purely a ladies festival celebrated by married women as well as unmarried women.

 Unmarried women perform Gauri Puja and celebrate the festival with utmost fervor to be blessed with a good and caring husband and great married life and married women for their marital bliss and wellness of their husbands.

 Woman mark AtlaTaddi by keeping a day-long fast without food or water. Hence this is also called “Nirjala Vratham”.

Atla Taddi Bhogi is first day of Atla Taddi festival.  Atla Taddi Bhogi   is observed on Ashwayuja Krishna Paksha Vidiya.

Gorintaku (Mehndi) designs are drawn on their hands during the day. This is the main ritual on Atla Taddi Bhogi.

 Throughout the day several games are played (in villages) and specially in the morning after eating those dosas women are supposed to sit in a jhoola and swing for sometime atleast.(We call it ooyala in telugu).

 People sing folk songs like atla taddi aaratloi, mudda pappu mudatloi

This festival is also known as ‘Uyyala panduga’ or ‘Gorintaku panduga’.

After Atlataddi Bhogi day, Atla Taddi festival is celebrated.

Goddess Gauri is worshipped on the day of Atla Taddi.

Women wake up early in the morning and perform spiritual bath or ceremonial bath.They observe fasting till the evening.

In the evening, women perform pooja, and after looking at the moon, they break the fast by having tiny atlu (miniature dosas).

After sunset they do gauri pooja.Stories of Atlataddi's significance are told .

Dosas are given as vayanaaluu to married woman who also do fasting.

For each muttayduvu (these ladies/relatives fast along with the one who is having this pooja perform). The ceremony includes 11 ladies who already took this vayanam and if  menatta (aunt of your mothers side) took this vayanam the rituals continues. To all these 11 ladies you give each 11 atlu with deepam (made of rice flour and ghee and lit in front of goddess Gowri) you offer each lady the vayanam by holding with your sarees pallu... you utter these words

...istinamma vanayam (i gave her the vayanam) ...puchukunna amma vayanam (lady says: i took the vayanam) ...mummatiki ichindamma vayanam (or) andinchinamma vayanam (i gave her the vayanam) ...mummatiki muttindamma vayanam (or) andindamma vayanam (lady says: i received the vayanam) ...vayanam puchukunna vanita evaro (you ask/pose a question saying who took the vayanam) ...ne ne namma gowri parvati (lady says: she says its me GowriParvathi)

and they  see the stars and the moon and then only break the fast along with you by having all the dishes made and some also make sweet called palatalikalu (made with milk and rice powder) and they also eat the deepam and take home those atlu and eat later with family members.

Pooja ceremony:

Procedure of the Vratam: 

 A mandapam for Goddess Parvathi should be arranged in the east direction. Prepare kalisam on rice, coins (inside kalasam water, kumkum, turmeric, coin, and flower with 5 mango leafs or just water) .Make pasupu ganapathi

 Worship Lord Ganapati first and then worship Goddess Parvathi or Gowridevi according to the customs. Shodasopachara Pooja where in Ashtothra satanamavali or Sahasranamam can be recited.

  Again in the evening take bath and worship Gowri. Tie Toranam for hand (with 11 nots for atla tadde n 5 nots toranam for Undralla tadde)

 Offer 11Atlu to Goddess.  Distribute 11 Atlu and 11 fruits to married women.

  Kudumulu (5 for gauri devi) (for yourself and other muttayuduvu 5 each and on 4 kudumulu you place one on top of the 4 and make it as deepam and eat the same after your pooja when the deepam is still lighting) .Read the story of Atlataddi vratam.  Offer blouses pieces, black beads etc to married women.  Take dinner along with them.  It is believed that eating 11 fruits, chewing tambulam 11 times, swinging on uyyala applying mehendi to hand etc helps young unmarried girls to get a good husband, married women will be blessed with children etc

 Repeat this for Ten years. On the tenth year, Ten Dosas(Atlu) , some money, black beads (Nalla Pusalu) , Lakka Jodu should be distributed to 10 Married Women as Vayanam.

Story of Atla Taddi:

Once there was a princess who was observing  the Atla Taddi Nomu, and as per the process she had to fast the whole day and eat only after seeing the Moon. She fell unconscious after few hours, as she was not used to fasting.  Her brothers asked their mother the reason of unconsciousness of the princess. Her mother replied that she was observing a fast and as she was not used to it fell unconscious. As per the process the princess had to eat only after seeing the Moon.

The brothers tied a mirror to a stick and held it high. They prepared a fire and arranged as if the reflection in mirror made the mirror look like Moon. The brothers woke their sister and showed her the fake Moon and made her break the fast.

The princess grew up and attained the age of marriage. Her brothers searched for a suitable match, but they were only getting profiles of old persons. They searched for a long time and finally as they had no choice and finalized a match of one of the old persons.

Knowing that her brothers have fixed a marriage with an old person, the princess was shocked. She thought that she had performed the Atla Taddi Nomu and as a result of performing the Vrat she should get married to an young person only. She refused to marry the old man. The brothers insisted that she had to marry the old man. Seeing the situation, the princess left for the forest without informing anyone.

She started penance under a banyan tree. Once Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati saw the princess performing the penance. They approached her and asked the reason for performing the penance. The princess replied that she explained them the whole story.

They understood and explained her that even though she observed the Atla Taddi Nomu, she had not performed the fasting properly and told her how her brothers cheated her by showing a fake Moon. They further told that it was because of the improper fasting that she was getting matches from older men only. They advised her to return to the palace and perform the Atla Taddi Nomu properly, by fasting until the Moon was visible.

The princess returned to the palace and narrated the whole story to her parents and performed the Atla Taddi Nomu as per the ritual. This time she took care not to overlook any of the process and performed the Atla Taddi Nomu to perfection.

By performing the Atla Taddi Nomu perfectly she got a good young prince match. She was married to him and lived happily.