Saddula Bathukamma is the ninth and final day of the festival, also called Pedda Bathukamma, the big one. The flower stacks are built taller than on any other day, whole neighbourhoods walk together to the tank, and the goddess is sent off with food and song.
The story
"Saddi" is food prepared to be carried and eaten later, and the day takes its name from the rice dishes made that morning. They travel to the water's edge with the Bathukamma and are shared there once she has been immersed.
In Hyderabad the evening fills the roads around Tank Bund and Hussain Sagar; in the districts every village tank has its own gathering. Married daughters come home for this day in particular.
పోయిరా గౌరమ్మా, పోయి రావమ్మా
Go now, Gauramma, and come back to us again
Sung as the Bathukamma is set on the water
What happens on the day
- Five kinds of saddiCurd rice, tamarind rice (pulihora), lemon rice, coconut rice and sesame rice are the customary five, cooked early and packed for the evening.
- MaleedaA sweet of crumbled roti with jaggery and ghee is offered to Gauramma and then passed around.
- The tallest stackFamilies bring out their biggest brass plate and build the Bathukamma as high as the flowers allow. A smaller one is often made beside it for the children.
- The farewellAfter the last circle of songs, the Bathukammas are floated at dusk. Women exchange turmeric and kumkum, share the saddi, and walk home in the dark.
Why this date
Saddula Bathukamma is counted, not found from the Moon directly: it is the ninth day from the Mahalaya Amavasya on which Bathukamma began. It usually falls on or beside Durgashtami.
Saddula Bathukamma in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Monday | |
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Thursday | |
| 2028 | Tuesday | |
| 2029 | Monday | |
| 2030 | Saturday |
More from this season
10 OctoberBathukammaబతుకమ్మ
19 OctoberDurgashtamiదుర్గాష్టమి
20 OctoberVijayadasamiవిజయదశమి
19 OctoberMaha Navamiమహర్నవమి
8 NovemberNaraka Chaturdasiనరక చతుర్దశి
8 NovemberDeepavaliదీపావళి