Three-Day Bathukamma Celebrations Conclude In Seethampet

Members of Netakani families decorated Bathukammas with colourful flowers and offered special prayers. Men and women carried the floral arrangements through the main streets of the village in a procession, singing traditional Bathukamma songs and performing Kolatam.

The procession reached a pond on the outskirts of the village, where the Bathukammas were placed together. Men and women gathered around them, singing traditional songs and performing dances until late in the night. The festivities concluded with the immersion of the Bathukammas in the pond.

Wardhannapet MLA and retired IPS officer K.R. Nagaraju and Hanumakonda District Congress Committee president Inagala Venkatram Reddy attended the celebrations as chief guests and participated in the festivities.

Speaking on the occasion, Nagaraju appreciated the Netakani community for preserving its age-old cultural traditions and organising the unique Bathukamma celebrations. Every community has its own customs and traditions, and the present generation has a responsibility to preserve and pass on this cultural heritage to future generations, he said. He added that protecting traditions inherited from ancestors would help communities retain their distinct identity.

Several Netakani families who had settled in different parts of the country returned to their native village to participate in the annual festivities. People from neighbouring villages also attended in large numbers, adding to the festive atmosphere at Seethampet.

Mandal president Renukuntla Ashok, former mandal president Mahender Reddy, Atmakur Market vice-chairman Tirupati, 66th Division president Gorre Kiran, 14th Division president Syed Imtiaz, local leaders, sarpanches, village elders, community members, women and youth also participated.