Hyderabad: Women from all walks of life gathered in colourful attire at colonies, designated community spaces and apartment cellars on Saturday to celebrate the start of Bathukamma, the nine-day floral festival of Telangana. The celebrations began with Yengili Poola Bathukamma on Mahalaya Amavasya and will culminate with Saddula Bathukamma on Oct 18.Women arranged flowers in distinctive conical stacks, placed them at the centre of gatherings and danced around them to traditional songs. The festival honours Goddess Gauri and celebrates nature’s bounty, with flowers, many traditionally valued for their medicinal properties, forming the centrepiece of the festivities.Each day, special prasadams, including Telangana delicacies, are offered to Bathukammas. The celebrations conclude with immersing the Bathukammas in water bodies.In Hyderabad, the celebrations are also bringing neighbours together, though organising them is becoming more expensive for some communities as flower and decoration costs rise.Ravi Shankar, president of the Federation of Gated Communities, Cyberabad (FGCC), said his community’s Bathukamma budget had increased by Rs 1 lakh this year, from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh. Flower costs alone had risen by around Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000, he said.“The budget was around Rs 2.5 lakh last year, but it has gone up to Rs 3.5 lakh this year. Flower costs and decoration expenses have increased, while more people are participating in the celebrations,” he said.The event is expected to draw around 2,000 women, with traditional rituals, dancing and a community meal planned.Dr Rao VBJ Chelikani, president of the United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (U-FERWAS), said the festival strengthened neighbourhood ties and gave women a central role in organising community events.“Bathukamma is largely a regional social celebration. It brings people living in the same colonies together and gives women a prominent role in organising community events,” he said.Resident welfare associations are seeing more people volunteer and contribute to the celebrations, Chelikani said. Unlike some religious events funded mainly by participating households, Bathukamma often receives contributions from individuals as well as association funds. Despite rising expenses, residents continue to support the festivities.The festival’s concluding celebrations in Hyderabad are expected to draw large crowds to Tank Bund on Oct 18.Mahalaya Amavasya also marks the beginning of Pitru Paksha, a period when families honour their ancestors through prayers and food offerings at homes and temples.
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