Women revel in Bathukamma festivities at Gandhi Bhawan

Hyderabad [Telangana], Oct. 1 (ANI): Day 2 of the Bathukamma festival was celebrated at Gandhi Bhawan in Hyderabad with much zeal and fervour with women enthusiastically taking part in the festivities. Bathukamma is a floral festival of Telangana considered as the symbol of the state's cultural identity. "During the festival, we use all types of regional flowers and pray for the health and prosperity of our family and loved ones," Mahila Congress president Neralla Sharadha, who was present at the celebrations, told ANI "Bathukamma is a tradition which is being celebrated since ages. It usually starts around the time of ammavasya and ends on Vijayadashami. During these days, we prepare nine different kinds of foods, we laud the goddess with all kinds of flowers, and ornaments," said Telangana Congress MLC Akula Lalitha. Meanwhile, London also witnessed Bathukamma celebrations as it is being taken to by Telangana Rashtra Samith Member of Parliament K. Kavitha is taking the festival to the international platform. Kavitha is taking the festival to Dubai, the U.K., the U.S, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Bahrain, Kuwait and Denmark from September 30 to October 15. Bathukamma is a colorful and vibrant floral festival of Telangana celebrated by women, with flowers that grow exclusively in each region. 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)