Hyderabad: A potpourri of festivals

Hyderabad: Bathukamma, one of the oldest traditions of the Telangana Telugus, has been revived after the formation of the new state. Dussehra is no longer a single day event, with all nine days of Navratri being celebrated. There has also been an increase in the number of Durga Puja pandals in the city.

The Bengali community has increased in size from 20,000 members in 2010 to 5 lakh this year. Bengalis in the city say that they no longer feel the need to go to Kolkata for the Durga Puja as large-scale celebrations are being organised in Hyderabad as well. The largest pandal is at Keys High Schools. 

Dussehra is an important festival for the Telugus. Many people choose to visit temples on this day. The Durga temple near the Bhadrakali Lake in Warangal is one of the most sought-after shrines. Thousands of people from the state also visit the Basara Temple and the Alampur Jogulamba Temple, which is one of the Astadasa Shaktipeethas dedicated to Goddess Shakti. 

Navneetha Kumar, a resident of Red Hills, says, “On the ninth day of Navratri, children usually keep their books and workers keep their tools for the Ayudha Puja. The books and tools are collected on the tenth day, which is Vijayadashami. Women conduct bommala koluvu, which is a special arrangement of dolls and toys, and they set up flowers as well as lamps. Saraswathi Puja is also performed by many families in Telangana. Children are initiated into education on this day as Vijaya Dashmi is considered to be highly auspicious for this purpose.”

In Telangana, newlyweds are invited by the bride’s family and offered gifts on the day of Dasara.

For Bengalis, the day of Vijaya Dashmi elicits mixed emotions. Bengali women play with vermillion, in a tradition called sindoor khela, as Goddess Durga prepares for her journey back home. Every married Bengali woman prepares a puja thaali bearing betel leaves or paan to signify the auspiciousness of the occasion, sondesh or any other sweet, and sindoor. 

Shampa Chakrabarti says, “Bengalis in Hyderabad has increased significantly. Hyderabad offers us most of the things that we would get in Bengal.  In the past 15 years, the number of Durga Puja pandals has increased from 2-3 to 20. Durga Puja celebrations begin and end with a foods such as luchi, kasha mango and biriyani.”fish fry, and sweets.”

Bhog is served at the Durga Puja pandals in the city, and a majority of the Bengalis choose to eat there.