Cultural Samvaad| Indian Culture and Heritage

Bathukamma – Celebrating Navratri in Telangana

Garima Chaudhry Hiranya Citi Tata Topper Garima Chaudhry

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Editor’s Note: This is a short video and an accompanying note that we created for the Ministry of Tourism to give an introduction to Bathukamma – the joyous and colourful celebration of Navratri in Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh.

Indian have venerated the goddess for millennia. During Shardiya Navratri, the Devi is celebrated in every nook and corner of the country in infinite ways and myriad forms. In Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh women and young girls celebrate Bathukamma for nine days. The spirit of life and the colours of nature blend together in the mesmerising songs and flowers of Bathukamma.

Bathukamma means ‘mother of life’ or ‘mother live on’. She is the source of life for agrarian communities and is also equated with Gauri. The mother who gives us life is worshipped with conical and tiered arrangements of local flowers in conical shapes. A goddess made of turmeric adorn the top of the floral bathukammas  which are characteristic of the festival. Melodious songs and spirited dances in the evenings by women and young girls make her worship come alive.

The colourful bathukammas reflect the spirit of life and are immersed in lakes and ponds on the last day of the festival in a grand finale with the belief that Bathukamma or Gauramma will be back next year and every year like the harvest comes again…

బతుకమ్మ శుభాకాంక్షలు!

Bathukamma shubakankshalu!

बथुकम्मा शुभाकांक्षालु!

 

 

Garima Chaudhry Hiranya Citi Tata Topper

Garima Chaudhry

Garima is a corporate leader and the Founder and Editor of Cultural Samvaad. Passionate about understanding India’s ancient 'संस्कृति 'or culture, she believes that using a unique idiom which is native to our land and her ethos, is the key to bringing equitable growth and sustainable change in India.

Deeply interested in Indic Studies, Garima has been a visiting faculty member for over a decade at the Mumbai University and K J Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies among others. She has taught diploma, graduate and post graduate courses in Development of Religious Thought in India, Hindu Thought and Purakatha, Buddhism and Comparative Mythology among others. She also conducts immersive workshops for various cohorts on appreciating India and her past, her dharmic traditions and her enduring values, stories and symbols.

In her corporate avataar, Garima runs Hiranya Growth Partners LLP, a boutique consulting and content firm based in Mumbai. She is a business leader with over 25 years of experience across Financial Services, Digital Payments and eCommerce, Education and Media at Network18 (Capital18 and Topperlearning), Citibank and TAS (the Tata Group). Garima is an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur and an Economics and Statistics Graduate.

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