Gatari Amavasya, shravan month starts on 22nd july

July 22,2009 is 'Gatari Amavasya' in Maharashtra.

This day marks the beginning of Shravan Maas(Shravan mahina), the fifth month in the Hindu calender.Shravan Maas is full of religious
festivals and almost every day of this month is auspicious, especially mondays ( called shravani somvar in marathi). Shiv Aradhana is done on mondays.

Why the month is called shravan?
Because the star called shravan rules the sky during this month.

Why to avoid non-vegetarian food during month?
The reason is that it's the monsoon season and many animals are pregnant during this period, so we are not supposed to kill and eat the animals for this entire month. As an early compensation for the month-long abstinence that is about to follow, people get together and hog wholeheartedly on their favorite non-veg food and booze. This celebration is called gatari.

Happy Gatari..