New Delhi: Nizamabad MP and Telangana Jagruthi chief K Kavitha is planning to break the Guinness book record created last year. On 26th September 40,000 women would participate and play Bathukamma in Hyderabad at the LB stadium in the heart of the city.
The event is being done in cooperation with the Telangana Government and it is a Government festival. This year the Bathukamma, the festival of flowers will be played in front of the historic places like Charminar and Golkonda in city and others parts of the state also.
What is Bathukamma?
Bathukamma is a colourful and vibrant festival of Telangana and celebrated by women, with flowers that grow exclusively in each region. This festival is a symbol of Telangana’s cultural identity.
Bathukamma festival is a symbol of Telangana cultural identity and celebrated during the latter half of monsoon and before the onset of winter.
The festival celebrates the inherent relationship between earth, water and the human beings. During the entire preceding week, women make 'Boddemma' (a deity of Gowri - mother Durga - made with earthly mud) along with 'Bathukamma' and immerse it in a pond.
It is believed that it helps reinforce ponds and retain more water.
The flowers used in Bathukamma have a great quality of purifying water and such flowers when immersed in abundance in a pond, it have the effect of cleansing water and making the environment much better.
History of Bathukamma:
According to the Hindu religious scholars and pundits, once upon a time there was a King named Dharmangada who belonged to the Chola Dynasty. This particular king largely ruled over South India. His wife gave birth to a girl child after many years of rituals and prayer. She was named as Princess Lakshmi.
During Baby Lakshmi brought up she survived many unforeseen accidents and incidents in life. The parents felt life and death while bring up their only child. Later they named their daughter as Bathukamma. According to the Telugu language, Bathuku means life and Amma means a female names and mother.
Then on this particular Bathukamma festival is grandly celebrated by young girls in Telangana region of Telangana in India. The main purpose of this particular festival is to pray with devotion to the Goddess in the strong belief that all young girls would get their beloved husbands as per their desire and wish soon.
On the other hand, married women along with their household friends and relatives celebrate this festival in order to pray to the Goddess for prosperity and good health of their family.
Celebration of Bathukamma:
Bathukamma is a nine day floral festival. The festival begin with excitement as the women dress up in traditional clothes and colourful processions are carried out in Telangana, the Bathukamma festival is celebrated during Durga Navratri. It begins on the day of Mahalaya Amavasya and the festival continues till nine days, ending on the day of Durgashtami.
Bathukamma means 'Mother Goddess come alive' and the festival represents the cultural spirit of Telangana, symbolizing the patron Goddess of womanhood. The festival is also regarded as the Spring Festival of Goddess Gauri. Bathukamma festival is a floral festival and during the festival, a beautiful flower stack is arranged in a unique style in shape of a temple, which usually consists of seasonal flowers, having medicinal values.
During the first five days, women clean their courtyard. The cow dung is then mixed with water and spread throughout as the ground-base. Then it is further decorated with a rangoli which is made of rice flour.
The men collect the flowers of vibrant colours and types for the preparations. There flowers are mainly; Celosia, Senna, Marigold, Lotus, Cucurbita, Cucumis etc. The preparations and decorating the rangoli and other things is folk art and generally, the preparations begin from afternoon.
The list of names of each day as it is celebrated:
Day 1: Engili pula Bathukamma
Day 2: Atkula Bathukamma
Day 3: Muddapappu Bathukamma
Day 4: Nanabiyyam Bathukamma
Day 5: Atla Bathukamma
Day 6: Aligina Bathukamma
Day 7: Vepakayala Bathukamma
Day 8: Vennamuddala Bathukamma
Day 9: Saddula Bathukamma
Reference:
www.greattelangaana.com
http://bathukamma.telangana.gov.in
indiatoday.intoday.in
www.quora.com