Performing Art · Telangana
Bathukamma
బతుకమ్మ
The flower-festival dance-and-song of Telangana — performed by women around a stack of seasonal flowers (the Bathukamma), singing the folk songs of the festival for nine days in September-October.
Understand
Where Bathukamma comes from
Bathukamma is the floral festival of Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh, celebrated by Telugu Hindu women for nine days starting on the Mahalaya Amavasya (the Pitru Amavasya at the end of Bhadrapada, in September-October) and culminating on Saddula Bathukamma (the eighth day of the Ashwayuja month, the day before Dussehra). The festival is dedicated to the goddess Gauri and is a celebration of the feminine and of the relationship between earth, water and human life. The Bathukamma is constructed by women of the family in seven concentric layers with seasonal flowers (particularly those of medicinal value) in the shape of a temple gopuram, with the brothers providing the flowers. The festival is followed by Boddemma, a 7-day festival marking the close of the rains (Varsha Ruthu) and the beginning of the cool Sharad season. In 2025 a 63-foot Bathukamma at Hyderabad entered the Guinness Book of World Records. Bathukamma is recognised as the state festival of Telangana and the largest folk-dance and floral-festival gathering of the Telugu-speaking region.
How it's practiced
Bathukamma is performed by groups of women in the local community spaces (the chowk of the village, the temple courtyard or the open square). The Bathukamma flower-stack is placed in the centre of the gathering, with the women moving in a circle around it, clapping rhythmically and singing the regional folk songs of the festival. Each of the nine nights is associated with a particular theme (the Engili Pula Bathukamma, the Atukula Bathukamma, the Muddapappu Bathukamma, the Nanabiyyam Bathukamma, the Atla Bathukamma, the Aligina Bathukamma, the Vepakayala Bathukamma, the Vennela Muddala Bathukamma and the Saddula Bathukamma). On the final day, the women carry the Bathukamma in procession to the pond or river for immersion. Costume is the traditional Telugu sari (often the pattu half-sari for unmarried girls) in bright colours, with the heavy silver jewellery and the floral ornaments of the festival.
The flower-festival dance-and-song of Telangana — performed by women around a stack of seasonal flowers (the Bathukamma), singing the folk songs of the festival for nine days in September-October.
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