Let’s…’Discover Telangana’ !

Kankata Rajaram

Warangal: For women in the Telangana region, the nine days preceding Dasara is a time of joyous celebration when they observe the colourful Bathukamma festival. The unique festival of flowers is celebrated as a form of devotion to goddess Gauri, the consort of Lord Shiva. For the women of the region, Bathukamma is as important as the Durga festivities are in Bengal.

Bathukamma is essentially a festival for women and affords occasion for both spiritualism and celebration. According to mythology, King Daksha performed yagna and invited all his subjects to the ritual except his youngest daughter Gauri, who had married the “poor” wanderer Lord Shiva against her father’s wishes. Though uninvited, Gauri turned up at the yagna and was insulted. Unable to bear the insult to her and her husband, Gauri kills herself. The women at the yagna immediately prepared a turmeric idol of Gauri, placed it on flowers and offered prayers to bring Gauri back to life. Since then Bathukamma has become a part of local culture and women perform the festival rituals to show their devotion to goddess Gauri and receive her blessings for the well-being of their husbands and other family members.”Bathukamma celebrations begin on Ashwayuja Shudh Padyami and end on Mahanavami day every year. The first day is known as the Petra Amavasya and the last day is Saddulu,” says Mr Gangu Upendra Sharma, the head priest at Thousand Pillars Temple in Warangal.

The festival engages women and girls of all castes through the day. In the morning, they begin the day collecting flowers like the traditional gunugu (lettuce flower), the seasonal yellow tangedu, and marigold. The women also gather other flowers and use the days’ collection to tastefully decorate the Bathukammas. First they decorate a wooden plate with colourful flowers, pyramid-like, then place the Gauramma, the turmeric idol of Gauri mata on it. They light incense sticks and place them on the flowers. Placing the Bathukammas on their heads, the women carry them to the temple, which is often near the village pond, in a colourful procession amid the beating of drums.

The women, dressed in their best saris, place the Bathukammas in a circle, sing traditional songs in praise of the goddess and step in rhythm round the Bathukammas. The older women take the lead in singing, while the girls respond in chorus. The festivities peak on the last day, Saddula Bathukamma, when the biggest Bathukammas are made and finally immersed in ponds.

The spectacle of Bathukamma festivities is at its grandest at the famous Bhadrakali Temple, the historic Thousand Pillars Temple and the Padmakshi Temple in Warangal, where lakhs of women throng to celebrate the festival.

“Bathukamma is often a reunion for many sisters and relatives as women visit their native places and initiate young girls in the tradition,” explains Prof. K. Venkatanarayana, a scholar in religious tradition.

“The Bathukamma festivities,” he adds, “give women an opportunity to celebrate life.”

Courtesy ‘The Asian Age‘