Kishan Reddy joins Hyderabad's Sadar Utsavs at Narayana Guda
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Amid the glow of Diwali, Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy stepped into the lanes of Narayana Guda and Cheppal Bazar on Saturday, November 7, joining the Yadav community's Sadar Utsavs — a festival that belongs, as the minister himself noted, to Hyderabad and nowhere else.
The star of the procession: a magnificently decorated Kerala-special 'Baahubali' buffalo that drew gasps from the crowd. These aren't ordinary animals led out on a festival day. Yadav families spend the entire year — twelve months of grooming, feeding, and training — to bring their prized bullocks to peak condition for this single annual showcase. The result is a spectacle of muscle, marigolds, and community pride rolling through Hyderabad's older neighbourhoods.
A Hyderabad tradition unlike any other
The Sadar Utsavs are intrinsically tied to Diwali and remain geographically anchored to Hyderabad — a rarity in an era when most festivals have been replicated and exported across cities. The festival draws relatives, neighbourhood elders, and entire families who come together to watch, celebrate, and compete, turning the streets of Cheppal Bazar into a carnival of decorated livestock and community bonding.
Kishan Reddy, who also serves as BJP Telangana state president, described his participation as a source of genuine joy — 'santhoshaanni ichindi' (it gave happiness) — a reflection of the warmth these deeply local traditions generate even for those at the highest levels of national government.
Ministers, maidan politics, and the community calendar
For union ministers with strong regional identities, the community festival circuit is as important as any policy briefing. Reddy's presence at the Sadar Utsavs fits a pattern of senior BJP leaders in Telangana maintaining close ties with specific community organisations ahead of an active political season in the state. The Yadav community — a significant social constituency across both Telangana and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh — organises these events with a scale and dedication that commands political attention.
The 'Baahubali' buffalo, draped and decorated to cinema-worthy grandeur, may be the visual centrepiece — but the real story is a city tradition holding its ground, year after year, block by block.