The Telangana government has launched a global campaign to promote the flower festival of Bathukamma, which will be celebrated from September 30 to October 8. Apart from a website, the State Government has also set up a Facebook page and a YouTube link. Earlier, the government headed by K Chandrasekhar Rao had announced its intention to celebrate ‘Maha Bathukamma’ with an eye on the world record.
Apart from all that, TRS MP Kavitha, who is also the daughter of the Chief Minister, has taken it a step further by announcing her intention to fly to nine countries to celebrate the festival. She has currently covered Dubai, London and in the US. After visiting Australia on October 8 and New Zealand on October 9, the MP plans to travel to Singapore, before visiting Bahrain, Kuwait and Denmark. Her schedule will come to a close on October 15. The MP wants to highlight the women-centric thoughts which are projected through the `Bathukamma' songs. Ironically, the songs talk of hardships and illnesses. While the flowers suggest resurgence and joy, the essence of the festival is a prayer to the mother goddess to protect children from untimely deaths. As in all folklore of the rural-agrarian communities, the festival is also about the relationship between earth, water and the human beings. When the flower stacks or Bathukammas are finally immersed in water, it is believed to have a cleansing effect.
"Bathukamma is about conserving the environment; it is about social-inclusion and economic development. The UN and the international community consider all these factors with great seriousness. But the people of Telangana already know it, as it is in our culture and passed on to us as a tradition," said Kavitha when she was in London, celebrating Bathukamma.
"We, the people of Telangana, are very proud people and we will continue this tradition. After decades of struggle, we have achieved this state. Now, it is the time to spread the message of Telangana not only in the country, but across the globe. If the cultural identity of our state is known to the public, it would be identified, respected and automatically, the opportunities for the state will grow," she added.
Telangana Jagriti, the banner under which TRS MP Kavitha is spreading the cultural identity of Telangana in foreign nations where there are a large number of Telangana denizens, has developed an app with festival songs and information about the event.
Over 10,000 women are expected to take part in the festivities on October 8, worshipping a giant 20-ft high Bathukamma decorated with flowers. One of the first announcements made by the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, as soon as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) took over the administration of the 29th state of Telangana, was that Dusshera would be celebrated with great pomp and fervour.
