India is the “land of festivals”. The way they celebrate the festival, which cannot be seen anywhere in the world. If “following tradition” is an art, then “Indians” are the Picasso of it. And thus, India is often called as “land of traditions”.

The traditional festivals for women is something special and beautiful to see. On the occasions, Indian women will wrap a saree, wore flowers in their hairs, wore bangles etc. generally, these women are traditionally beautiful. On the occasions, they are more than that.

About bathukamma

Bathukamma is one of the commemorate festivals which is celebrated in the Indian state telangana. This festival is also called as “blossom festival”. The odours of flowers along with traditional beauties is pleasant to sight. This festival is celebrated during the month of September and October according to Gregorian calendar. The festival comes during the monsoon. The monsoon gives enough rain, so that flowers will grow widely. The elucidation of flower is beauty.

The festivals begins a week before the “saddula bathukamma” (the climax of the bathukamma festivals) which comes two days before the grand event dussehra. The women from their in-law’s house will get back to their parent’s home to celebrate the “floral festival”. Some women might stay in their in-law’s house to celebrate the “smell of flowers”.

Antiquity of bathukamma

Scanning the history of the ancient kings and their kingdoms to see how our ancestors lived with the customs. Down memory lane, there was a king named “dharmangada” who was an integration of the majestic chola dynasty. Though he was very kind to everyone, he had no issues for a long time. After a great deal of prayers and worship, his wife gave birth to girl baby to whom they named as “Lakshmi”.

Since she was a daughter of the great king, she was brought up as royal princess. But the life was a pure savage to her. Life showed her things that should not be seen. After many miserable incidents, they renamed their beloved daughter as “bathukamma”. In accordance with Telugu language bathukamma means “bathuku” means life, “amma” means mother. I.e. mothers are the gift sent by god. They give birth to the humans. So, this is especially for girls and married women.

Other history portrays that the beauty goddess gauri killed the beast “mahisasura”. After killing this monster, she went to deep sleep due to the exhaustion on “Aswayuja padyami” day. In order to wake her up, all devotees prayed with deep devotion. It is said that, she woke up on “dasami” day.

Other history tells that there was a chola king named “dharmangada” and his queen “satyavathi” lost their hundred sons in battle. They did rituals and prayers for goddess Lakshmi to be born as their baby. Heard it, goddess Lakshmi was born as their daughter. Priests blessed their royal baby and called as “bathukamma”.

Other antiquity says that goddess Parvathi is the admirer of flowers or “batakamma”. So, all kinds of blossoms are arranged in a manner that it should look like “gopuram” or “temple tower”. The top of the arrangement has large amount of turmeric in which goddess is worshipped.

Procedure

There is nothing difficult to do this. Arranging of flowers is not a complicated task. As it is said that the arrangement should look like a floral temple tower. Collect the flowers of different varieties. Take a steel plate or brass plate that depends on you. If you are a fresher, take a small 8 inch plate or even smaller than that. Place two long pieces of thread on the plate which should be perpendicular to one another and it should pass over the centre of plate. The plates are arranged in such a way that it glances like temple tower.

If it is difficult for you, you can even make this arrangement in a bamboo poles. Cut the bamboos first, take a bamboo piece and keep it as base. Then take two bamboo pieces which should be adjacent to the base. Lay a small piece of bamboo which should be alternate to the base. Then, place a small bamboo sticks in-between the structure. After the structure is made, lay a “vishtharaku” (a plate made of leaves) and crop the edges of vishtaraku that should match the base of the plate. Then, spread the pumpkin leaves over vishtharaku.

The plate is arranged with “thangedu puuvulu” (tiny flowers with yellow petals) at the base layer. The other layer is arranged with “gunugu puuvulu” (pink flowers look lengthy). The other layers are arranged with pumpkin leaves or any other loose flowers. The crest of the structure should be polychromatic. You can use different coloured flowers like “banthi puuvulu” (marigold flower), “chamanthi puuvulu” (chrysanthemum flower). Even you can use artificial flowers. The apex of the tower should be arranged with pumpkin flowers. The loose ends of the two threads placed over the bottom plate and “vishtharaku” are drawn up and tied at the apex to hold it.

The way of celebration…

It is the longest festival that last for nine days. This is a ladies corner. In the fine evening, married women and maidens will gather at certain place along with their bathukamma. All of them will make a circle around bathukamma and will start to sing folk songs by striking their palms together and rotate around bathukamma.

They pray for their families and neighbours seeking good health and wealth. The performance ends with any one of the following tributes: uyyala, chandamama or gouramma.

After playing bathukamma, women will carry their bathukammas on their heads and proceed towards a lake. After reaching the lake, they immerse their bathukamma slowly in the lake. They return with empty plates. The echo of voices can be heard even in the nights.

Food offerings

Each day different types of dishes are prepared. They are very simple to prepare. They call it as “neivedyam”.

Engili pula bathukamma

prepared on first day. This day falls on “mahalaya Amavasya”. Adding sesame seeds with rice flour or wet rice, engili pula bathukamma is prepared.

Atkula bathukamma: - prepared on second day. This day falls on padyami (first day) of Aswayuja month. Adding bland boiled lentils, jaggery with semi boiled rice, atkula bathukamma is prepared.

Muddapappu bathukamma: - prepared on third day. This falls on second day of Aswayuja month. Adding softened boiled rice, milk and jaggery, muddapappu bathukamma is prepared.

Nanabiyyam bathukamma: - prepared on fourth day. This falls on third day of Aswayuja month. Adding wet rice, milk and jaggery, nanabiyyam bathukamma is prepared.

Atla bathukamma

prepared on fifth day, fourth day of Aswayuja month. Pancakes made from wheat lets or dosa is prepared.

Aligina bathukamma

no food offered on this day. This day is the fifth day of Aswayuja month.

Vepakayala bathukamma

prepared on seventh day, falls on sixth day of Aswayuja month. Rice flour is shaped into sweets along with neem is deep-fried.

Vennamudala bathukamma: - prepared on eighth day, falls on seventh day of Aswayuja month. Adding sesame seeds, butter, jaggery, ghee, vennamudala bathukamma is prepared.

Saddula bathukamma

prepared on ninth day, falls on eighth day of Aswayuja month which coincides with durgastami. Five types of dishes are prepared: curd rice, tamarind rice, lemon rice, coconut rice and sesame rice. Maleeda- combination of roti and jaggery distributed at the end of the festival.

Flowers used in bathukamma festival

Celosia, tanner’s cassia, marigold, chrysanthemum, lotus, cucurbita, cucumins, ipomoea, luffa, tridax, ajwain, Senna and whatever the flowers you want to use. And thus the lengthiest festival comes to an end by spreading joy with each other.

Month of Celebration

Between mid-September and mid-October.

Location : Throughout Telangana