"Celebrating Batukamma: A Beautiful Transition 🌼✨

 "Celebrating Batukamma: A Beautiful Transition 🌼✨

"Celebrating Batukamma: A Beautiful Transition 🌼✨
From the vibrant childhood festivities filled with family, flowers, and delicious treats to embracing new traditions in a different phase of life. Though I celebrate alone this year, I carry the joyful memories of the past and look forward to creating new ones. Here’s to embracing change and finding beauty in every season of life! 💖"

Today marks the first day of the Batukamma festival, a cherished tradition we celebrate in Telangana for nine days. During this festival, we prepare the Batukamma with vibrant flowers, offering prayers, singing songs, and dancing before placing it in the water. In simple terms, this festival is a beautiful celebration of flowers.

Reflecting on my childhood, Batukamma was a special time. The government would grant holidays from the first day of Batukamma until the Dussehra festival, allowing me to spend time at my grandparents' home. They would prepare delicious snacks, especially my favorite, Mudda, made with rice flour and sugar—something I always looked forward to.

With my cousins, I would roam the village, collecting various flowers to bring home, where my mother would create a stunning Batukamma. By 3 PM, we would all get ready for the celebration, gathering near the lakes with countless others. The air was filled with Batukamma songs, dances, and an infectious vibe of joy and togetherness.

This year, however, is my first Batukamma after marriage, and it feels quite different. My husband is busy with work commitments, leaving me to celebrate alone at home. I prepared the Batukamma using the flowers I could find here and cooked some traditional food. In the evening, I got ready and placed the flowers in a glass bowl, marking the end of the celebration while I awaited my husband’s return. I wore a navy blue saree with pearl jewelry, my favorite, which complemented me beautifully.

While I miss the fun-filled celebrations of my childhood surrounded by family, I’ve come to realize that I am grown up now. Life brings changes, and I must embrace them, finding joy in this new chapter of my life.

Pooja Mattapalli