Vimala Narasimhan, Shobha Play Saddula Bathukamma

The spouses of Governor E S L Narasimhan and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao today participated in the Saddula Bathukamma festival on Tank Bund that marked the grand finale of the 9-day Bathukamma celebrations across Telangana.

The event featured a rally of 20,000 women with Bathukammas, hundreds of artistes and tableaux from districts, which joined the Tank Bund at 4:30 pm. The entire Tank Bund premises were illuminated and bedecked to attract the crowds.

Vimala Narasimhan and Shobha KCR encouraged the huge gathering of women by playing a Bathukamma song before a makeshift dais on the Tank Bund, which was attractively decorated to mark the occasion. They also patiently shared moments with many other women who sang songs in circles for some time.

Narasimhan and KCR themselves released a brochure on the occasion.

In a photo-op moment, when Telangana Jagruthi chief and MP Kavitha, Deputy Speaker Padma Devender Reddy and Karimnagar ZP Chief T Uma came on to the dais carrying colourful Bathukammas on their heads, Narasimhan affectionately came to them and held the Bathukamma that Kavitha was carrying for a few seconds and handed over back to her.

The trio later came down to join a team of women who indulged in songs of the festival.

Assembly Speaker S Madhusudhana Chary, Council Chairman Swamy Goud, Ministers Rajender, KTR and Jagadish Reddy, Telangana Sanskrithika Sarathi Chief Rasamayi Balakishan, MP Keshava Rao, MLA Srinivas Goud and many others attended the event held before the grand finale.