Smriti Irani attends 'Bathukamma' celebrations in Delhi, Hyderabad abuzz with festivities

Delhi/Hyderabad [India], Sept. (30): Union Minister Smriti Irani attended the Bathukamma festival celebration in Telangana Bhawan here and extended her wishes and greetings to the people. Celebrations were organised on a large scale across Telangana including the capital city of Hyderabad. "We had decided that when our government will come to power, we would celebrate Bathukamma and today it is being organised at an international level and its credit goes to Kalvakuntla Kavitha. We are also thankful that our Chief Minister that he gave financial support to organise Bathukamma celebrations," Telangana State Home Minister Nayini Narsimha Reddy, who was present at the celebrations in Hyderabad, told ANI. "We celebrate this festival for nine days. It is dedicated to Goddess Gauri, whom we worship to bring prosperity in our homes. We make decorations from different-different flowers," said one of the devotee present at the celebrations at Police Grounds in Yusufguda , Hyderabad. "Bathukamma festival is famous in Telangana region. This festival is also being celebrated by Telugu people across the world and our MP Kavita has played a significant role in this. I reqest people from every community to partake in this festival and enjoy," said TRS MLA Maganti Gopinath attending the celebrations. Telangana Jagruthi founder-president and Member of Parliament Kalvakuntla Kavitha is also taking this festival to the international platform in an attempt to woo foreign investors and engage Telugu migrants. She will be taking the festival to Dubai, UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Bahrain, Kuwait and Denmark respectively starting from September 30 to October 15. This will be an opportunity to attract investors from abroad through the rich and valuable festival "Bangaru Bathukamma", which will be an addition to the development of state economy. Bathukamma is a colorful and vibrant floral festival of Telangana celebrated by women, with flowers that grow exclusively in each region. This festival is a symbol of Telangana cultural identity and during the latter half of monsoon, before the onset of winter. The festival celebrates the inherent relationship between earth, water and the human beings. During the entire preceding week, women make 'boddemma' (a deity of Gowri - mother Durga - made with earthly mud) along with Bathukamma (flower stack, arranged with different unique seasonal flowers most of them with medicinal values) and immerse it in the pond. This helps reinforce the ponds and helps it retain more water. The flowers used in Bathukamma have a great quality of purifying water and such flowers when immersed in abundance into the pond have the effect of cleansing the water and making the environment much better. The festival heralds the beauty of nature, collective spirit of Telangana people and also the scientific approach of the agrarian people towards preserving the resources of nature in a celebrative way. (ANI)