Sea of bamboo baskets stacked artistically with multi-coloured flowers on heads of women dressed in traditional bright clothes. This was the eagle eye view from LB Stadium till Tank Bund as thousands of women carrying Bathukammas marched to the Tank Bund as part of rally on the concluding day of Bathukamma festival on Tuesday.
The yellow coloured state flower Tangedu, finds a special place in the floral arrangement in the baskets, apart from gunughu, chrysanthemum, and marigold.
Artists dancing to famous tunes of the festival filled arterial routes of Hyderabad with festive spirit. People lined up on both sides of the streets to catch a glimpse of the celebrations.
The significance of each district of Telangana was displayed on ten tableaus which led the rally, followed by artists in flamboyant coloured saris danced in synchrony to famous tunes of the festival which blazed from speakers all along the way.
All of them converged on the Tank Bund, which was ground zero for women to place their Bathukammas, encircle them, and dance by clapping their hands. Being considered a women’s festival, Nizamabad MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha and other women representatives from the government participated in the festivities.
Home minister Nayani Narasimha Reddy, deputy chief minister Mahmood Ali, and other ministers attended the celebrations. As the fete came to an end, women immersed their Bathukammas in the lake.
Bathukamma Fest in Washington DC
Bathukamma celebrations organised by Telangana Development Forum were held in a grand manner in Washington DC. Nearly 4,000 NRIs attended the event and celebrated Bathukamma with a festive spirit. Telangana Legislative Council chairman Swamy Goud, MP Balka Suman, MLC P Rajeswar Reddy, Principal secretary, Planning & IPR, B P Acharya, TDF president Visheswar Reddy were present. Swamy Gowd lauded the role of NRIs in the struggle for Telangana and requested them to actively take part in the reconstruction of the state.
Source: The New Indian Express