A 72-foot-tall Bathukamma — claimed to be the largest in India — is taking shape at Amberpet Ground in Hyderabad, and Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy personally inspected the preparations on Friday, 16 October 2026, ahead of the grand celebration scheduled for the following day.

A floral tower built from 25 quintals of blooms

According to Kishan Reddy's post, roughly 25 quintals of flowers of various varieties are being assembled into the towering structure. The Bathukamma — Telangana's beloved annual festival of stacked floral pyramids — traditionally uses seasonal blooms like tangedu (senna) and gunugu (cock's comb), but a display of this claimed scale would represent a striking escalation of the format that communities across the state celebrate every autumn.

Reddy, who also serves as BJP Telangana state president, shared photographs from his inspection and invited women and their families to attend. 'I request all daughters to come with your families, celebrate Bathukamma through song and dance, and make this event a grand success,' he wrote in Telugu.

Bathukamma's place in Telangana's cultural calendar

Bathukamma is a nine-day festival observed primarily by women in Telangana, typically falling in September–October during the Telugu month of Ashwayuja. Women arrange wildflowers in concentric rings around a central Gauri (goddess) figure, then carry the arrangements in procession to a water body, singing traditional songs. The festival is one of the most visible symbols of Telangana's distinct cultural identity — an identity that sat at the heart of the statehood movement and continues to carry political as well as spiritual weight.

Large-scale, record-attempt versions of Bathukamma displays have become a recurring feature at Hyderabad public grounds in recent years, with political organisations from across the spectrum using them as civic-engagement platforms. Amberpet Ground, a prominent open space in the city, has previously hosted major public gatherings.

An open invitation to Hyderabad's women

Kishan Reddy's call was directed specifically at 'aadabiddalu' — 'daughters,' the traditional address for women in this cultural context — urging them to bring their entire families. The framing positions the event not merely as a political spectacle but as a community celebration, one where the scale of the floral installation serves as the draw rather than any platform speech.

Whether the 72-foot height claim will be officially verified or ratified by any records body was not stated in the post. The proof, as with every Bathukamma, will be in the flowers.