GCTA celebrates Telangana festival Bathukamma in Mason, Ohio

It was a beautiful day with sun shining bright on September 27th 2014. Greater Cincinnati Telangana Association (GCTA) celebrated Bathukamma and Dasara festivals with pomp and fervor in Bathukamma Park (Mason, Ohio) with the attendance of around 100 people from Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Dayton surrounding cities. Its started with maa bhoomi Sandhyakka paying homage to amara veerulu who laid down their lives for liberation of Telangana. She recollected the countless struggles by people for a free Telangana. She expressed her happiness on celebration of these festivals after Telangana state was carved out earlier this year. Attendees maintained a two minute silence in remembrance of amara veerulu. Organizers mentioned that how bathukamma festival played a key role in uplifting the telangana cause for achieving Telangana State.

Ladies in colorful sarees and with a traditional look started playing bathukamma with songs like 'bathukamma bathukamma uyyalo...' etc. They enjoyed singing all traditional bathukamma songs and going around colorfully and beautifully decorated bathukammas. While ladies were playing bathukamma, gents went to jammi tree and offered prayers and read out 'shami shamyaithe paapam...'. Jammi tree holds a lot of significance from ages with Arjuna hiding all his weapons in it and praying it for success of pandavas. Dasara is celebrated in this manner by praying to Jammi tree then exchanging it's leaves (leaves are referred to as gold) to one another by giving alai balai (hugs to each other). Five top bathukammas were selected and were given trophies. All participants were awarded participation certificates.

Ladies walked in a procession for bathukamma nimajjanam (immersion). Along with bathukamma, all wishes from men on the 'shami shamyaithe papaam...' papers were immersed in the water. At the end, families had sumptuous Telangana dinner which included chapathi, chole, pulihora, curries and sweets like jilebi, laddus etc. There were Telangana songs playing in the background like the Telangana state song 'Jaya Jayahe Telangana...' and bathukamma songs. It was a truly a successful event with the importance of celebrating bathukamma and dasara for the very first time since Telangana state was formed. GCTA committe members thanked one and all for making this event a Grand Success.