Bathukamma 2025
Hyderabad is ready to welcome the most colourful celebration of the year Bathukamma, the floral festival of Telangana. This nine-day festival, starting on September 21 and ending on September 30 with Saddula Bathukamma, is not just about flowers but also about life, womanhood, and the spirit of community.
The word Bathukamma comes from two Telugu words: Bathuku meaning life, and Amma meaning mother. Together, it signifies “Mother, come alive.” The festival is dedicated to the Goddess Gauri, who represents life and fertility. Women and girls create beautiful stacks of seasonal flowers, arranged in layers to resemble a temple tower, with a turmeric idol called Gauramma placed on top.
Every evening, women gather beautifully dressed with their Bathukammas, singing, dancing, and clapping in circles, before finally immersing the flower stacks in lakes and ponds as a return of nature’s gifts.
Bathukamma marks the end of the monsoon and the arrival of bright seasonal flowers across Telangana. It is both a thanksgiving to nature and a prayer for prosperity, good health, and family happiness. The flowers used like marigold, gunugu (celosia), chrysanthemum, and lotus are not only colourful but also believed to have medicinal value.
For women, Bathukamma is a festival of identity and togetherness. It is an occasion to bond, pass on folk songs and traditions to the younger generation, and celebrate the feminine energy that sustains life. Over the years, Bathukamma has become a strong cultural symbol of Telangana, especially after the formation of the state in 2014.
The celebrations begin with households cleaning their courtyards and decorating them with rangoli patterns. Women collect flowers from gardens and fields, carefully arranging them in seven or more layers. Each day of the nine-day festival has its own rituals and food offerings. The final day, Saddula Bathukamma, is the grandest, with large gatherings and immersions in major lakes like Hussain Sagar.
In Hyderabad, the Tank Bund has become the heart of the celebrations, where thousands come together to showcase the splendour of Bathukamma. The sight of women in colourful sarees, holding vibrant flower stacks, singing in unison, is a visual treat that truly defines the spirit of Telangana.
This year, Hyderabad is set to make history again. The Telangana government has announced a Guinness World Record attempt at LB Stadium, where over 10,000 women will gather with their Bathukammas. On September 27, a grand Bathukamma carnival will take place at Tank Bund, followed by competitions and cultural parades on September 29 and 30.
In earlier years too, records were set like the world’s tallest Bathukamma built in Jangaon in 2024, and the Guinness record in 2016 when 9,292 women performed together at LB Stadium. This year’s celebrations are expected to be even bigger.
For Hyderabad, Bathukamma is more than tradition; it is a showcase of Telangana’s culture to the world. It brings communities together, boosts local flower markets, and draws visitors to witness the state’s unique identity. As the flowers bloom this September, so does the spirit of Telangana, reminding us all of the beauty of nature and the strength of togetherness.
This post was last modified on September 12, 2025 4:01 pm