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Bathukamma: nine evenings of flower towers in Telangana
Women circle towers of flowers, singing, then set them afloat at dusk
Bathukamma is the flower festival of Telangana, kept by women for nine evenings from Mahalaya Amavasya, the new moon before Navratri, to Durgashtami. Each evening women build a cone of seasonal wildflowers, circle it singing and set it on the water of a pond or lake. The ninth evening, Saddula Bathukamma, two days before Dussehra, is the big one: in Hyderabad the city brings its Bathukammas to Tank Bund and the Hussain Sagar. Dates: 29 September – 7 October 2027.
The Telangana holiday list, issued in early December for the next year, fixes Saddula Bathukamma; the state announces its programme about three weeks ahead.
The legend
Legend says that when the Cholas took the great Shiva lingam from Vemulawada, Parvati was left alone and grieving, and people consoled her with songs and flowers.
Another legend tells of King Dharmangada, who lost a hundred sons in battle and was then blessed with a daughter. The sages blessed her: "Bathukamma", live forever.
The name is read as "Mother Goddess, come alive". The tower of flowers is worshipped as the goddess herself, with Gauramma, a turmeric figure of Gauri, on top.
So for nine evenings women sing around their flower towers, and on the last, Saddula Bathukamma, they carry them to ponds and lakes and set them on the water.
Meaning
Telangana
With Bonalu and the Medaram jatara, Bathukamma became a marker of regional identity in the movement for a separate state; since 2014 it is celebrated more widely.
Turn of season
The festival comes at the start of autumn, when the ponds are full after the rains and gunugu and tangedu bloom in the fields.
Customs
Tower of flowers
Flowers are laid in rings on a wide plate, the thambalam, above all gunugu (celosia) and tangedu (senna). The result is a cone shaped like a temple gopuram.
Flowers from fields
Brothers and the men of the family gather the flowers in the fields, and the women build the tower, starting in the afternoon.
Circle and song
The Bathukammas go in the middle and women circle them, clapping and singing: one leads and the rest take up "Bathukamma, Bathukamma, uyyalo".
Offering of the day
Each of the nine days is named for its offering: sesame with rice flour, flattened rice with jaggery, lentils with milk. Only the sixth day has none.
Gauramma
Before the tower goes into the water, Gauramma is lifted off it, and married women touch its turmeric paste to their mangalsutra, the wedding necklace.
Farewell on water
At dusk on the last day the towers are carried on women's heads to a pond or lake, gently set on the water with song, and then food is shared.
What people eat
Maleeda
crumbled flatbread with jaggery, handed out as the festival ends
Pulihora
tamarind rice, one of the five rice dishes of the ninth day
Curd rice
rice with curd, another of the five rice dishes of the last day
Words of the festival
బతుకమ్మ
Bathukamma
"Mother Goddess, come alive": the name of the festival and of the flower tower itself
గౌరమ్మ
Gauramma
a turmeric figure of the goddess Gauri placed on top of the tower
తంగేడు
tangedu
a yellow-flowered senna, the base of the tower along with gunugu
సద్దుల బతుకమ్మ
Saddula Bathukamma
the ninth and main evening, when five kinds of rice, the saddulu, are made
True or myth
✅ True. It is the sixth day, Aligina Bathukamma. Every other evening has its own offering, and the day is named after it.
❌ Myth. The tower is set on the water of a pond or lake. Only Gauramma, the turmeric figure, is taken back.
✅ True. In 2025 Telangana built a Bathukamma 63.11 feet tall, over 19 metres, from seven tonnes of flowers: a Guinness World Record.
Where to celebrate
What Bathukamma is
In Telugu the name is read as ‘Mother Goddess, come alive’, and it is both the name of the festival and of the flower tower itself. The tower is worshipped as the goddess, with Gauramma, a small figure of Gauri shaped from turmeric, set on top. Telangana's women celebrate it as a festival of the goddess and of the season: it marks the start of Sharad, the season after the rains, when seasonal wildflowers are in bloom.
Bathukamma is also a marker of Telangana's identity. Together with Bonalu and the Sammakka Saralamma Jatara at Medaram it became a marker of the region's separate cultural identity in the movement for a separate state. Since Telangana was formed in 2014 it has been celebrated as a state festival, with a state programme in Hyderabad and the districts. The state holds two Guinness World Records set at Bathukamma: a Bathukamma 63.11 feet (over 19 metres) tall, built from about seven tonnes of flowers, and 1,354 women performing together.
How an evening of Bathukamma runs
The flowers come from the fields. Brothers and the men of the family gather them, above all gunugu (celosia) and tangedu (a yellow senna), along with marigold, chrysanthemum and others in bloom. From the afternoon the women build the tower on a wide brass plate, the thambalam, laying the flowers in rings of alternating colours that narrow towards the top, until it looks like a temple gopuram. The gunugu are often dipped in bright colours.
At dusk, dressed in their best saris and jewellery, the women set their Bathukammas in the middle of a courtyard or open ground and circle them, clapping and singing: one woman leads and the rest take up the refrain ‘Bathukamma, Bathukamma, uyyalo’. Then they lift the towers onto their heads and walk in procession to the nearest pond or lake, where the flowers are set gently on the water. Before that, Gauramma is lifted off, and married women touch its turmeric to their mangalsutra, the wedding necklace. On the last evening food is shared, among it maleeda, crumbled flatbread with jaggery.
The nine days and their names
Each day is named after its food offering, and the offerings of the first eight days are simple, often made by girls.
- 1. Engili Pula Bathukamma
On Mahalaya Amavasya: sesame with rice flour.
- 2. Atkula Bathukamma
Flattened rice, boiled lentils and jaggery.
- 3. Muddapappu Bathukamma
Soft-boiled lentils with milk and jaggery.
- 4. Nanabiyyam Bathukamma
Soaked rice with milk and jaggery.
- 5. Atla Bathukamma
Wheat pancakes or dosa.
- 6. Aligina Bathukamma
The one day with no offering.
- 7. Vepakayala Bathukamma
Rice flour shaped like neem fruits and fried.
- 8. Vennamuddala Bathukamma
Sesame, butter or ghee and jaggery.
- 9. Saddula Bathukamma
On Durgashtami: five rice dishes, the saddulu, among them curd rice, tamarind rice (pulihora), lemon, coconut and sesame rice. The towers go into the water this evening.
Where to watch in Hyderabad
Everything is free and open. The state's Saddula Bathukamma evening, with the procession finish, performances, a laser show and fireworks, centres on the Hussain Sagar lake; the venues of set-piece events shift from year to year.
Tank Bund, on the lake side
Where the procession arrives and the towers go into the water.
NTR Marg
Fills with families carrying their Bathukammas down to the water.
Necklace Road
Near the designated immersion point on the Hussain Sagar shore.
People's Plaza
Used for the Best Bathukamma display in the state programme.
A residential courtyard, earlier evenings
The festival's everyday form, with unamplified singing. Nothing is ticketed or centrally scheduled. In past years the city has also set up decorated Bathukammas at about 150 junctions.
Planning the trip
Two nights in Hyderabad are enough. Warangal, Karimnagar and Nizamabad also celebrate on a large scale, and a village or small town shows the festival at its most local.
- Arrive the day before the last evening
That way you can see an ordinary evening in a neighbourhood courtyard first, and then the scale of Saddula Bathukamma.
- Book transport early
The festival falls in the Navratri and Dussehra travel window, when trains and domestic flights across India are hardest to get: book about six weeks ahead. Hyderabad hotels are an easier squeeze; about three weeks is usually enough.
- Watch for the state programme
Saddula Bathukamma is fixed in the Telangana holiday list, and the state announces its programme and venues about three weeks ahead.
- In the crowd
FCDO advises taking care of your possessions in crowds and following the advice of local authorities; near the water, follow police directions.
FAQ
When is Bathukamma?
Next: 29 September – 7 October 2027. It runs nine days from Mahalaya Amavasya to Durgashtami, usually between mid-September and late October; the last day, Saddula Bathukamma, is the main one.
Why is Bathukamma celebrated?
To honour the goddess, worshipped in the flower tower as Gauri, and the season of full ponds and wild flowers after the monsoon. By one legend it began as a way to console the goddess at Vemulawada, left grieving when the Shiva lingam was taken from her temple.
Who is the goddess of Bathukamma?
The tower itself is worshipped as the goddess, with Gauramma, a turmeric figure of Gauri (Parvati), on top. Many also connect the festival with Durga, since it coincides with Navratri.
What is the state festival of Telangana?
Bathukamma. India's Ministry of Tourism (Incredible India) calls it a state festival of Telangana, and the state government runs its own programme for Saddula Bathukamma.
What are the names of the nine days of Bathukamma?
Engili Pula, Atkula, Muddapappu, Nanabiyyam, Atla, Aligina, Vepakayala, Vennamuddala and Saddula Bathukamma, each named after its offering.
Sources (5)
Facts checked: 21 October 2026. Prices and hours are approximate; check locally.