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TAGH Celebrates Bathukamma Festival with Record Crowds

Photos: Murali Santhana

By Rajender Aparasu

HOUSTON: Bathukamma, a “flowerful” festival of Dassera, organized by the Telangana Association of Greater Houston (TAGH) attracted record crowds of over 3,500 people at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple on October 8. The TAGH, a USA registered non-profit organization, was formed in 2014 by the Non Resident Indians in the greater Houston Area to preserve the cultural identity and to contribute to the development of new state of Telangana. The organizing committee with over 50 volunteers worked hard for the last several months to bring all Houstonians together and make this great outdoor event a grand success.

Bathukamma is the state festival of Telangana. It is gaining popularity because of its widespread support and participation of the Telugu people. Although Bathukamma is primarily a women’s festival, it has become a community event for Telugu people all over the world. Bathuku in Telugu means life and amma means mother. This celebration of life honors the Goddess Gauri, the life giver, for societal prosperity and good wishes. The festival begins on the 1st day of Aswiyuja (Ashwin) and ends on 9th day – maha navami.

Bathukamma is a beautiful flower arrangement in concentric layers of seasonal blossoms in the form of a cone. The popular flowers used in the preparation of traditional Bathukamma include Gunuka, Tangedi, Lotus, Alli, Katla, Teku, and other local blooming flowers. This year Houstonians prepared over 150 Bathukammas for this occasion. It was delightful to see families bringing variety of colorful Bathukammas to Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple; these were placed on an intricately decorated stage outside the temple. Families took pride in showcasing their Bathukammas; some were small but colorful while others were large and imposing.

The event festivities started with a procession for Goddess Gauri, the life giver, from the temple to the center stage of Bathukammas. The resident priest of the Sri Ashtalakshmi temple started the proceedings by invoking Goddess Gauri for societal prosperity and good wishes. People gathered around the Bathukamma stage to participate in this annual community event to receive the blessings of Goddess Gauri.

As the pre-recoded Bathukamma songs were played, women and girls in colorful and festive sarees and dresses danced with zest around the Bathukammas. As the evening progressed, the circular group dances expanded with synchronized dancing and hand claps. These are similar to Garba dances which are performed during the Navarathri festival, but they have a typical southern flavor and style. The songs praised Goddess Gauri¸ patron Goddess of womanhood, while describing stories of common woman, their dreams, and aspirations. The festive songs and lively comments energized the participants for over two hours.

The event chairs for this year were Srinivas Mettu and Karunakar Choudavarpu. The organizing committee thanked the volunteers and team leads for various activities including parking, stage and light arrangements, sound system, nimajjanam, and food set-up. The committee also thanked generous donors and dedicated volunteers that contributed immensely to the grand success of this free event. Acknowledgements were also made for Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, Voice of Asia, Indo-American News, Andhra Mirchi Radio, Radio Hungama, NNN media, and Fox News. Finally, nimajjanam (water immersion of the Bathukammas) was performed at a specially arranged pool at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple. The evening ended with a delicious traditional dinner for over 3,500 attendees exclusively prepared by Biryani Pot, Vishala, Universal Bakery, and Mayuri Restaurants.

For future TAGH events and volunteering, please contact the organizers at taghgroup@gmail.com or visit http://www.tagh.org/

October 20, 2016
Bathukamma Festival in Houston a Grand Success

HOUSTON: Bathukamma, “flowerful” festival of Dassera, was celebrated by record crowds at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple on October 17. This year’s festivities, organized by the Telangana Association of Greater Houston (TAGH) Bathukamma committee, attracted over 2,000 people. The TAGH, a USA registered non-profit organization, was formed last year by the Telangana Non Resident Indians in greater Houston area, to preserve the cultural identity and contribute to its development.

Bathukamma, the state festival of Telangana, has gained widespread prominence among Telugu people because of their sociocultural and religious importance. Bathuku in Telugu means life and amma means mother. This celebration of life festival honors Goddess Gauri, the life giver, for societal prosperity and good wishes. The festival begins on the 1st day of Aswayuja (Ashwin) and ends on 9th day – Durgashtami. Families come together and prepare Bathukamma – a beautiful flower stack, arranged with seasonal flowers on a plate like base, in several concentric layers, of potter’s clay like a cone. The popular flowers used in the preparation of bathukamma include Gunugu, Tangedu, Lotus, Alli, Katla, Teku, and other local blooming flowers.

This year over 100 Bathukammas were specially made for the occasion by the participating families. This is an arduous task as it requires time and effort to prepare Bathukammas and to transport it to the large stage exclusively made for the occasion at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple. Houstonians showcased their passion and creativity for the event with their colorful Bathukammas; some were small and cute while others were large and impressive. The event festivities started with families bringing Bathukammas to the temple. Organizers made arrangements to take family portraits by a professional photographer for each family with their Bathukamma. All participants also received a gift as a token of appreciation.

The center stage was decorated with flowers and other puja items for Goddess Gauri, the life giver. The Bathukammas were placed on the stage around Goddess Gauri. This stage became the center of the festivities for the evening. The event started at 6:30 pm with a Gauri puja by the resident priest of the Sri Ashtalakshmi temple, by invoking Goddess Gauri, the life giver, for societal prosperity and good wishes. People gathered around the Bathukamma stage to participate in this community event to receive the blessing of Goddess Gauri.

The festivities picked up gear with pre-recorded Bathukamma songs. All women and girls in colorful and festive sarees and dresses danced as a group around the Bathukammas supported by men cheering. As the evening progressed, the circular group dances expanded with synchronized dancing with hand claps. These dances are similar to Garba dances which are performed during the Navaratri festival but have a typical southern flavor and style. The songs praised Goddess Gauri¸ patron Goddess of womanhood while describing stories of common woman, their dreams and aspirations. The festive songs and lively comments energized the participants over two hours.

Hon. Consul General Sri Harish Parvathaneni¸ the special guest for the evening, expressed his appreciation to the participating families and organizers for maintaining Indian culture and heritage. The event chairs, Veerender Reddy and Anita Devireddy, thanked the volunteers and team leads for various activities ranging from food to stage set-up. The organizing committee thanked individual donors and participants that contributed immensely to the grand success of this free event. Finally, nimajjanam (water immersion of the Bathukammas) was done at a specially arranged pool at Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple. The evening ended with traditional Mahaprasadam (dinner). It was a delicious ending for a great outdoor event! This is the sixth year in a row that Houston successfully celebrated Bathukamma Sambaralu!

The TAGH is reaching out to the community for organizing such wonderful events and festivals. They are actively seeking support and memberships.

For further details email at taghgroup@gmail.com or visit http://www.tagh.org/

October 22, 2015
Houston Celebrates “Thanksgiving” Festival of Bonalu in August

By Rajender Aparasu

HOUSTON: With formation of state of Telangana, festivals like Bonalu and Bathukamma have gained widespread significance because of their sociocultural and religious importance. These festivals were declared as state festivals by the Telangana government because of their importance to the people of the newly formed state. The Telangana Association of Greater Houston (TAGH), a USA registered non-profit organization, was formed last year by the Telangana Non Resident Indians in greater Houston Area, to preserve the cultural identity and contribute to its development. The organization provides a platform for literary, cultural, educational, social and developmental activities in Houston and in Telangana. For second time, the TAGH organized Bonalu Festival at Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir on August 8.

Bonalu is an annual “Thanksgiving” festival for Goddess Mahakali, the life saver for good health and prosperity, for the fulfillment of vows. It is celebrated in greater Hyderabad and many parts of Telangana for Goddess Mahakali. It is also referred to as Ashada Jatra Utsavalu as it falls in the month of Ashada Masam or around July/August. The festivities are celebrated at temples of Mahakali or her other various forms such as Mysamma, Pochamma, Yellamma, Peddamma, Dokkalamma, Ankalamma, Poleramma, Maremma, Nookalamma etc. Bonam means Bhojanam in Telugu, a meal, which is an offering to Mother Goddess. Women prepare rice cooked with milk, jaggery in a new brass or earthen pot adorned with neem leaves, turmeric, vermilion and a lighted diya on the top of the pot. Women carry the pots on their heads and make offering of Bonam along with turmeric, vermilion, bangles and saree to the Mother Goddess across the temples.

About 400 people attended the indoor and outdoor community event at the Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir. The sunny weather and the temple atmosphere provided an ideal stage for this summer event. The festivities started at 6:30 pm with a puja by Sri Madhusudhan Shastry, resident priest of Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, with invoking the Goddess Mahakali to drive out evil and rein in prosperity. A special stage was created inside the temple for this purpose with alankaram, the decoration where people gathered to receive the blessings of the Goddess. Later everybody participated in a procession around the temple, the signature activity of Bonalu festival. Ladies wearing colorful festival sarees carried Bonam on their heads and men danced to the dole and music.

The procession ended indoors with ladies and girls dancing around Bonalu and men and boys forming their own dance groups. The energy and enthusiasm for the dance and music for more than an hour showed the devotion to the Goddess Mahashakthi and her various forms. The Bonalu and other devotional songs energized the dancing crowd. The volunteers provided butter milk to participants to quench the thirst and to re-energize them. For many, it reminded the festivities of the childhood in their native land of Telangana. It was a teaching moment for the parents to pass their family rituals and values to their children.

Finally, the program ended with delicious festive dinner exclusively prepared by Biryani Pot Restaurant. The families enjoyed the traditional dinner with their friends. This year’s event was led by Ram Surabi (Chair) and Saritha Gutha (Co-chair) with strong support from the organizing committee, volunteers, media sponsors, and local organizations. The committee thanked the volunteers for various activities ranging from stage set-up, food, and other arrangements. They also thanked Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir. The TAGH is reaching out to the communities for organizing festivals like Bonalu and Bathukamma. They are actively seeking support and contributions to their next signature event, Bathukamma, to be held in at Sri Ashtalakshmi temple on October 17, 2015.

For further details visit: http://www.houstontelangana.org/ or www.tagh.org

August 20, 2015