Dandiya songs praising Modi, Ambani and Adani steal Bathukamma spotlight

ADILABAD: A Gujarati song, ‘Gajike Rime... angur ka lal... Ame Gujarati leri lala... Gujarati ne bhol bala' that praises leaders from the state like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani is the toast of Bathukamma celebrations here.

There is a significant Gujarati population in the erstwhile Adilabad and Nizamabad districts. Gujarati and even North Indian celebrations have become part of the traditional Bathukamma. It is at its peak this year understandably because Assembly elections are round the corner and politicians are being organising many events.

One could see the women and young girls singing the traditional Bathukamma songs at a few places and many of them dancing to DJ numbers. They were playing Bathukamma to popular garba songs like ‘Pankhida...Ho Pankida’.

Vijaya, a housewife from Adilabad, said a lot of changes have taken place in the style of playing Bathukamma. Girls are showing interest in dandiya (kolatam) Bathukamma during the Navaratrulu. “Unlike the elders, today’s youngsters are unable to sing traditional Bathukamma songs,” said Vijaya.

She said that during the Telangana agitation, books on traditional Bathukamma songs were distributed to women while some Telugu magazines also published those songs so that women could sing them during Bathukamma Navaratrulu.