Bhiwandi's Telugu Community Celebrates Saddula Bathukamma With Traditional Dances, Songs & Floral Immersions

Bhiwandi witnessed a vibrant celebration of the Telugu cultural festival, Bathukamma, on Sunday. Women from various Telugu-speaking localities, including Padmanagar, Kamatghar, Ganesh Nagar, and numerous others, came together to partake in the festivities. The celebrations marked the ninth day of Navratri and culminated in the immersion of Saddula Bathukamma, symbolising the rich Telugu heritage.

Women dressed in traditional attire donned floral arrangements as they participated in processions and performed traditional dances and songs. At designated immersion sites, such as three ghats of Varala Lake and eight other locations across the city, women sang collective folk songs during the immersion process, preserving the customs associated with the festival.

Rajita Konda, chairperson of Prabhag Committee No. 3, along with corporator Vandana Katekar and former corporator Shashilata Shetty, joined women in celebrating the occasion. The municipal corporation had arranged for cleaning roads around Varala Lake, providing lighting, and ensuring security during the celebrations. Police personnel maintained crowd and traffic control near the immersion sites.

Pottabathini Ramakrishna, president of the Akhila Padmashali Samaj, highlighted the large participation of women in the festival, emphasizing the cultural unity of the community. Drinking water and poha were also made available to devotees. Five Bathukamma beneficiaries received silver coins, while the poha distribution initiative, supported by donors for the past 25 years, received felicitations.

Notable attendees included MLA Mahesh Choughule, Mayor Narayan Chaudhary, Municipal Commissioner Anmol Sagar, and local leaders and corporators from various political parties. They expressed their greetings to the women during the festival, which celebrates nature and honors Goddess Gauramma. This tradition of collective worship, music, and community participation remains an essential cultural practice for Telugu-speaking women.