Hyderabad: From floral arrangements and folk songs to gatherings of hundreds, Bathukamma is blossoming beyond Telangana as Telugu associations bring the festival to cities where families have settled.In Mumbai, the Bombay Andhra Mahasabha and Gymkhana’s celebrations have grown from a small gathering into an event drawing 500-600 people. General secretary Padmaja Pillamarapu, who began organising the festivities around 2014, said the celebrations now bring together people from different cultural backgrounds.“Here in Bombay, South Indians and North Indians live together. So we also play garba and they play Bathukamma. We bring everyone together so that everybody feels it is their own programme,” she told TOI.The festivities include folk songs, garba and turmeric-kumkum ceremonies. The association also organises ‘Bommalu Koluvu’, a traditional doll display associated with Navratri.In Bengaluru, the Karnataka Telangana Cultural Association goes the extra mile to preserve the festival’s traditions, sourcing ‘tangedu’ and ‘gunugu’ flowers from Hanamkonda because they are difficult to find in Bengaluru.“Even though Bengaluru has so many varieties of flowers, we don’t get these two easily. Without tangedu and gunugu, there is no Bathukamma,” general secretary Revathi Mallavajjala told TOI.Founded in 2015 with just five members, the association has grown to more than 1,300 members in 2026. Revathi said she started the celebrations so Telugu families could observe the festival without travelling to their hometowns.“We are all IT employees and everybody is busy with their schedules. But we still ensure we hold a meeting, online or offline, and discuss and prepare for the festivals,” she added.
