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Bathukamma in Chicago
Tricolor Indian National Flag Flows across American Skies on Telangana Liberation Day Chicago, ILLINOIS September 18th, 2004 Telanganites living in and around Chicagoland celebrated Telangana Liberation Day along with 2nd North American Bathukamma Festival. The event was organized by Telangana Development Forum (TDF-USA), Chicago Chapter. About 40 families attended the event with enthusiasm and gaiety. People of all ages participated in the event. The day started at 10am with people trickling in slowly. Many people arrived by noon. After lunch, there was a period of initial introductions. Purna Allamneni welcomed guests and everyone introduced himself or herself. The next event was the celebration of Telangana Liberation Day (Telangana Vimochana Dinam). Srini Palthepu explained why Sept 17, 1948 Telangana got its freedom, not the August 15, 1947 which is the day when the rest of India got independence. Telangana was still fighting against Nizam’s cruel dictatorship even after India got freedom from British on August 15th 1947. Many Telangana people sacrificed their lives to get their freedom from the oppressive rule of Nizam. It is important not only to remember the day as a historical record when Telangana got its freedom but also to remember all those who lost their lives fighting for their freedom. Then everyone observed 2 minutes of silence to honor those heroes. After the Telangana Liberation Day, various sports and games were conducted. There were separate events for children and men and women. Bathukamma started at about 2pm with women in traditional silk sarees with Bathukammas made of locally available flowers were placed in the center and women played around the Bathukammas. It was a visual treat when women danced around Bathukammas with Bathukamma songs with the tune of "Bathukamma Bathukamma Uyyaalo." The backdrop of tricolor Indian National flag a novel element that provided a unique experience compared to other Bathukammas that are generally celebrated in August in India. Another event of the day was boat rides that families enjoyed on the lake with children and adults participating alike. Final event of the day was when all the participants assembled together for prize distribution to winners of various games and to talk about various issues and problems facing Telangana. TAGC president Mr Chandrasekhar Reddy distributed the prizes for all the winners. Srini Palthepu described briefly TDF and its activities such as seminars and voter education campaign in the past and urged everyone to take more active part in its future activities. He also described various developmental activities people from TDF have taken up such as Rural Library Networks and encouraged everyone to get involved. He also distributed literature about Telangana liberation history and other TDF related information. Finally Purna thanked everyone in helping organize the event. Special thanks to go to Venkat Thudi and Kishan Vantakala who helped in organizing food and Niranjan who helped to obtain National Flag for the event. Everyone pledged to bring more people next time. |
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