Anxious Telangana women coin Bathukamma songs to express fear and sorrow over misery 

Be it River Musi oustees or those opposing land acquisition for pharma villages, women while being worried about their houses and lands, sang Bathukamma songs, albeit in a different tone and with new lyrics

Hyderabad: Bathukamma, the floral festival is usually celebrated by women decked up in traditional attire to seek blessings from the Goddess for the well-being of their family members. But this year, Bathukamma is all about fear and sorrow for women in the State, with many coming up with new songs to express their anxiety and to appeal to the government to spare them from suffering more misery.

Be it River Musi oustees or those opposing land acquisition for pharma villages, women while being worried about their houses and lands, sang Bathukamma songs, albeit in a different tone and with new lyrics.

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At Yacharam mandal under Ibrahimpatnam constituency on Wednesday, woman from four neighbouring villages assembled to stage a protest against the acquisition of land for the pharma village while celebrating Bathukamma. Singing in unison and clapping, the women promoted farming over establishment of pharma villages. Later, a few men too joined them and sang stressing the need to save lands for farming.

Similarly, a few days back, women in Chaitanyapuri and surrounding areas affected due to the Musi Riverfront Development project wanted Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy not to demolish their houses. They played Bathukamma and appealed to the Chief Minister to let them stay peacefully in their houses. The videos and images of the women dancing to Bathukamma songs went viral on different social media platforms.

Likewise, a few women found fault with the government for not providing new sarees for Bathukamma. Many said Bathukamma festivities should not be given any political colour and stressed that it was all about women’s celebrations.