Bathukamma, more than just a regional festival

Bathukamma, a popular festival of flowers observed in every nook and cranny of the State celebrates our relationship with nature, love, life, and sisterhood.

Hyderabad: As the sun sets this evening, women and girls dressed in colorful traditional clothes will gather around a meticulously decorated pile of flowers. While they move around it clapping, they will sing melodious folklore from the bygone era. In the end, they will immerse it in a water body.

Bathukamma, a popular festival of flowers observed in every nook and cranny of the State celebrates our relationship with nature, love, life, and sisterhood. What may look like just another regional festival in the southern part of India, it rather holds a significant scientific value.

---

The flowers used to make the Bathukamma, a gopuram-like structure formed by stacking flowers row after row in concentric circles cleanse the water and make the environment better.

According to Dr. K. Sudheer Kumar, a professor in Pharmacognosy, all the flowers used have medicinal importance. “Flowers are naturally recycled products. They come from nature and decompose into nature. However, each one of them has a distinct value to add. And there is no threat to the water bodies when bathukammas are immersed in them,” he says.

Celebrated for nine days during Navratri, flowers of rich value that are available regionally like Banthi (Marigold), Chamanthi (Chrysanthemum), Mandara (Hibiscus), Thangedu (Cassia auriculata), Gunugu (Celosia), Gummadi (Cucurbita) and others are used to make Bathukamma in a brass plate called taambalam.

“Senna, our State Flower, has antibacterial properties and is used in various medicines. The pumpkin flowers are rich in antioxidants, Hibiscus is anti-inflammatory and Ganneru puvvu is used to treat Leprosy. All these flowers will only do good and Bathukamma in a way highlights them,” he adds.

Kumar believes that our ancestors were aware of the medicinal values of natural resources and these regional festivals are a good way to remember that nature holds the power to heal.