SUNNYVALE, CA: The 8th Annual Bathukamma Festival was held by Telangana Cultural Association at Ortega Park, Sunnyvale on October 14 from 11am to 4pm. It was organized by Vijay Chavva, Bikshma Palabindela and their TCA committee members. It was a grand event and was attended by about 300-400 people from different parts of Bay area. The event commenced with auspicious puja for Sri Lakshmi, Sri Saraswathi and Sri Durga.
Bathukamma is a spring festival celebrated by the women of Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is celebrated for nine days during Durga Navratri. It starts on the day of Mahalaya Amavasya and concludes on Durgashtami. On the final day, the closing ceremony of Bathukamma Panduga is celebrated as a great festival known as Pedda Bathukamma, where flower decorations are immersed in a pond.
Bathukamma is a beautiful flower stack, arranged with seasonal flowers, in seven concentric layers of potter’s clay, like a cone. It is celebrated for long life and prosperity. It is unique to Telangana region and it is undoubtedly an icon of cultural identity for Telanganites. This festival is not celebrated else where, though there are some known instances of festivals celebrated in association with water and flowers, none of them resemble this one, says Vijay Chavva, Chairman, TCA.
It is generally made from gunuka poolu, tangoed poolu, banti, chemanti, nandi-vardhanam etc. As evening approaches the womenfolk dress colorfully in their best and put on lot of ornaments and place the Batukamma in their court yard. The women of neighborhood also join them and they sing songs by going around it building a beautiful human circle of unity, love, sisterhood. They all sing in chorus after a lead singer starts off and the rhythms of the folklore songs reverberate in the neighborhood sounding the uniqueness of Telangana cultural identity.
After playing around, the “Batukammalu”, is carried on their heads and they go as a procession towards a bigger water lake of the village or town and it is slowly immersed into water after some more playing and singing.
Why is Batukamma celebrated? Batukamma is a great celebration of preservation of nature’s harmony. It is the season of blooming flowers and overflowing water ponds. Batukamma celebrates the inherent relationship between earth, water and the human beings. They pray to mother goddess Gowri that they should not face any difficulties and that their husbands live longer and their families be prosperous. That’s why Batukamma is the icon of cultural identity of Telangana.
– Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
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