As sunsets, hundreds and thousands of women slowly walk to their street corners or nearby temples carrying a variety of flowers arranged in a cone shape on plates. They place them on the ground and go round singing songs in praise of goddess Durga.
All the songs are aimed at praising Goddess Durga and seeking her blessings. This ritual goes on for nine days ahead of Dasara festival and is unique to Telangana state.
With the chief minister Mr KCR declaring it as a state festival and providing enough funds, the festival got a new fillip and became very popular across the globe.
The women and children get busy in the morning hours collecting and arranging flowers. In the evening, sporting the best of their attire, they make beelines to the street corners and or nearby temples to celebrate the festival singing and dancing.
Senior TRS leader and MLC Ms K Kavitha was very instrumental in taking this festival to a global level uniting people of Telangana during the separate Telangana movement invoking a sense of belongingness as well.
By Gollapudi Srinivasa Rao