Bathukamma festival during Navaratri

Growing up in <st1:city><st1lace>Hyderabad</st1lace></st1:city> which is part of telangana region, I used to look forward to dasara panduga mainly for batukamma celebrations.

During the nine days preceding dasara ( vijaya dashami) day every evening batukammas (boddemmas) used to be made from flowers by the elders in the family. The young ladies and kids sing songs and tap their feet and clap hands in traditional dance movements around the batukammas in the court yard. My favorite song was :


Batkamma batkamma uyyaalo
Bangaru gauramma uyyaala (2)

Maa vaaru vachiri uyyaalo
Mee vaaru vachira uyyaala (2)
(translates as all my relatives have come
have your relatives come to visit)

( a lady sings complaining about her absent brother)

okkade maa anna uyyaalo
vachenna podu uyyaala

(trans. I have only one brother
and he does not even bother to visit me)

(another lady sings defending the brother)

Etlavathu chellela uyyaalo
Yeradda maaye uyyaala

(trans. How can I come dear sis
the lake obstructs my path)


In this way the song goes on sung adhoc adding events, complaints, dreams etc etc made up on the spot by the participants.


Later all the batukammas are immersed in the cheruvu (lake/ pond)

In my maternal grandparents village, them being the village heads this used to be a specially huge event. The largest & tallest batukamma had to come from one of the houses from our family.

After coming to US all these festivals and celebrations took a back seat for the initial 10 years and these were the years that I used to mop and be homesick around festival days. But since last decade decided to do something about it with the help of close circle of friends. Batkamma celebration in US abode of mine started out as small affair on the ninth day after the lalitha sahasranamam and last year it blossomed into full blown affair with the help of local unit of volunteers. Enclosing last year’s batukamma celebration pictures. Since there was no lake or pond near by did the immersions in Rubbermaid tub filled with water.

This year the celebrations are going to be by a lake side on the 30^th of September in <st1lace><st1lacetype>lake</st1lacetype><st1lacename> Fairfax</st1lacename></st1lace> park, <st1lace><st1:city>Reston</st1:city><st1:state>Va.</st1:state></st1lace> All ladies who are interested are invited to attend.

Please find further info at this site:

http://www.telangana.org/Bathukamma/Bathukamma-2007/DC%20Batukamma%202007.pdf



As a side info for those who have no idea about what I am talking about =)….

Excerpts from google search results for Telangana & batkamma:
Andhra Pradesh consists of three distinct regions, namely, Andhra, Rayalaseema and Talangana. Andhra and Rayalaseema were part of <st1:city><st1lace>Madras</st1lace></st1:city> province of the <st1lace>British empire</st1lace>. For approximately 400 years, Telangana was part of <st1lace><st1lacename>Hyderabad</st1lacename><st1lacetype>State</st1lacetype></st1lace>, an independent kingdom ruled by Muslim Qutub Shahi and Nizam dynasties. Thanks to the sacrifice of Sriramulu Potti, Andhra and Rayalaseema were separated from <st1lace><st1lacename>Madras</st1lacename><st1lacetype>State</st1lacetype></st1lace> in 1953. Andhra state (Andhra and Rayalaseema) was the first state that was formed purely on linguistic nationality, like many European states. Later Andhra merged with Telangana in 1956, based on their linguistic and national affinity, to form the present state of Andhra Pradesh, <st1:city><st1lace>Hyderabad</st1lace></st1:city> as the capital city.

THE BATHUKAMMA Panduga is one of the most unique festivals of Telangana (comprising of 10 districts: Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Medak, <st1:city><st1lace>Warangal</st1lace></st1:city>, Khammam, <st1:city><st1lace>Hyderabad</st1lace></st1:city>, Rangareddy, Nalgonda, and Mahaboobnagar districts of Andhra Pradesh) and one celebrated mainly by the women of this region. Celebrated during Navarathri it honours the `life-giver’ Bathukamma, with women seeking her blessings for prosperity and a good year. Colours, flowers and water are all intrinsic to the festival; and the goddess herself is not one rooted in a shrine but made of flowers that signify both life and eternity in their colours as well as impermanence. For, the goddess is `created’ each year, and immersed duly on the 10th day of the festival in local water bodies

 

To all the members who live in northern virginia and know about / celebrate bathkamma please visit the site

http://www.telangana.org/Bathukamma/Bathukamma-2007/DC Batukamma 2007.pdf

All are invited but please rsvp to the organisers so that the park's resources will not be overwhelmed

 

I am not in the picture tulasi. I will not post a picture of me and the one I posted here took care that the focus is not on anyone. I didn't had a close up of the bathukammas placed in the centre from last year. This year wiil take some and post it after the 30th.

This is being held in other metro areas too. details at

Telangana Development Forum-USA

 

Srilatha,

thanks for the FB. for your info there is one organised in new jersey this following week end on saturday.

 

Kamla,

this is a very regional festival that too mostly observed in the villages. This is a feast to the eyes and ears seeing the beautiful bathukammas and equally beautiful young ladies all decked out in their traditional finery doing the song and circular movements. The observance of the festival is diminishing nowadays due to unavailability of affordable flowers to the general mass in the urban areas of hyderabad. Posting my last years Bathukammas ( bathuku amma = live my mother) resting on the cocktail table in my friends home....