EARTH AND US — Vol 1

VOLUME I: A Science and Human-Purpose Lens on Festivals — Part 2

Author: Kesari Babu

Region: Telangana, India

4. Bathukamma: The Peak of Botanical Conservation

Material Origin and Scientific Purpose

As the monsoon recedes and autumn approaches, my home state of Telangana celebrates Bathukamma, an exclusive, nine-day floral festival culminating just before Dussehra.5 Translated literally as “Mother Goddess, Come Alive,” I view this festival as the absolute peak of ancient biodiversity cataloguing and water remediation.11

At the end of the heavy rains, the uncultivated plains, hills, and barren lands of the Deccan plateau explode with wild, indigenous flora.5 The festival requires women to leave the confines of their homes, forage these specific seasonal wildflowers, and arrange them in concentric layers to form a conical structure (gopuram).

The choice of flowers is not based on aesthetics; it is an exercise in applied phytochemistry.12 The women specifically gather:

• Tangedu (Cassia auriculata / Senna): Placed at the base, this flower is used extensively in local medicine for its strong antibacterial and anti-diabetic properties.13
• Gunugu (Celosia argentea): Acts as a natural coolant and possesses potent therapeutic agents for stomach ailments and blood pressure.13
• Banthi & Chamanthi (Marigolds & Chrysanthemums): Renowned for their anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and natural pesticide characteristics.13

The conical stacking is a deliberate geometric design meant to maximize the surface area of the biomass. On the final day (Saddula Bathukamma), women carry these floral stacks to local freshwater ponds and lakes and gently release them. As these specific flowers slowly decompose in the water, they release their medicinal, antimicrobial compounds. This biological process naturally purifies the village water reservoirs, eradicating monsoon-bred pathogens and clarifying the drinking water supply for the coming dry winter.14

Ritualisation and Obscurantism

Because Bathukamma relies exclusively on wild, uncultivated flowers, its original practice directly incentivized the protection of barren lands and local biodiversity. However, rapid, unchecked urbanization in Telangana has paved over these natural habitats, making the native flowers scarce. In a heartbreaking drift toward religious obscurantism, I now see urban populations using cultivated greenhouse flowers, plastic flora, synthetic dyes, and non-biodegradable packing tape to build their Bathukammas. They throw plastic and synthetic dyes into a lake because “the ritual must be done,” perfectly reversing the festival’s purifying effect and polluting the water bodies instead.

Future Relevance and Diaspora Effects

Bathukamma is the ultimate model of a circular, sustainable economy: taking natural medicinal resources from the earth, using them to heal the community’s water supply, and returning them safely to the soil. As clean water becomes scarce, this practice is highly relevant. However, when the Telugu diaspora celebrates Bathukamma in the UK or the US, they are forced to use non-indigenous, commercial greenhouse flowers.15 While this maintains cultural identity, using foreign, non-medicinal flowers strips the festival of its phytoremediation purpose.

Knowledge Transfer and Critique

The knowledge transfer required here is the urgent re-education of our urban populations regarding local botany. We must teach our daughters and sons the specific medicinal properties of Tangedu and Gunugu. We must protect our uncultivated lands to allow these flowers to grow. My plea is absolute: the use of any synthetic material, plastic, or chemical dye in a Bathukamma entirely invalidates its existence. If you cannot build it purely from nature, do not drop it into the water.

Bathukamma Purpose Evaluation Checklist:

• [ ] Ecology: Are my flowers 100% wild, locally sourced, and free of synthetic dyes or chemical pesticides?
• [ ] Ecology: Have I completely avoided the use of plastic, thermocol, or synthetic threads in binding the arrangement?
• [ ] Health: Will the immersion of these specific flowers genuinely purify the local water body through phytochemistry?
• [ ] Mindset: Am I protecting local uncultivated lands to allow these flowers to grow, rather than just buying them for a photo opportunity? Result: If the majority are ‘No’, you are polluting the earth instead of healing it. Better not to do it.

5. Dussehra: The Autumn Harvest and Economic Mobility

Material Origin and Scientific Purpose

Synchronized with the end of Bathukamma is Dussehra (Vijayadashami), occurring in the autumn month of Ashwayuja. While mythological texts frame this as the victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, or Goddess Durga over Mahishasura, my scientific lens views it fundamentally as an agrarian and economic reset.

Scientifically, this period marks the absolute end of the monsoon cycle and the ripening of the Kharif (summer) crops. For ancient Indian societies, the heavy monsoons meant total isolation. Rivers flooded, and the deep mud roads became impassable. Military campaigns, long-distance trade, and travel were completely halted for months.

Dussehra historically marked the exact time when the mud roads dried up and the skies cleared. It was the signal for farmers, traders, and soldiers to move again. The ritual of Seemollanghanam (crossing the village borders) was a practical exercise in re-establishing trade routes and expanding economic territory after months of lockdown. In Telangana, we exchange the leaves of the Jammi tree (Prosopis cineraria), referring to them as “gold” (Bangaram). This tree is deeply drought-resistant and revitalizes soil nitrogen, making it a critical asset for the upcoming dry farming season. The exchange of these leaves was a pledge of economic cooperation and agricultural readiness.

Ritualisation and Obscurantism

Today, the practical celebration of mobility and harvest has been entirely consumed by the mythological narrative. The religious mandate demands the burning of massive effigies of Ravana filled with toxic firecrackers.16 This practice generates immense localized air pollution and serves no practical human purpose other than visual entertainment. We have lost the connection to the soil and the clearing of the roads, replacing it with the burning of chemicals in the name of “victory over evil.”

Future Relevance and Diaspora Effects

While modern asphalt roads and air travel have eliminated our fear of monsoon isolation, the concept of an economic reset and the celebration of the autumn harvest remains relevant. However, for the diaspora living in the West, October does not mark the end of a crippling monsoon; it marks the descent into the freezing winter. The agrarian timeline is entirely disconnected from their reality, reducing the festival to mere storytelling.

Knowledge Transfer and Critique

We must transfer the knowledge that Dussehra is an economic and agricultural festival. The focus should return to the reverence of tools, vehicles, and the instruments of our trade (Ayudha Puja), recognizing that our livelihoods sustain us. The burning of toxic effigies must be recognized as an environmental hazard and discarded.

Dussehra Purpose Evaluation Checklist:

• [ ] Society: Am I using this time to genuinely re-evaluate and improve my economic endeavours, tools, and professional skills?
• [ ] Ecology: Have I completely abstained from burning effigies and bursting firecrackers that poison the local air quality?
• [ ] Health: Am I celebrating the local harvest with nutritional foods rather than industrial sweets?
• [ ] Mindset: Am I focusing on human progress and agricultural gratitude rather than obsessing over mythological wars and demons? Result: If the majority are ‘No’, you are burning resources for entertainment. Better not to do it.

6. Diwali: Circadian Illumination and Atmospheric Healing

Material Origin and Scientific Purpose

Roughly twenty days after Dussehra, we arrive at Diwali, deeply tied to human biology, atmospheric physics, and psychology. It falls on the darkest night of the lunar month (Amavasya) in late autumn.17 During this time, the Northern Hemisphere tilts further away from the sun, plunging the subcontinent into shorter, significantly colder days.

This sudden drop in daylight severely disrupts the human circadian rhythm. The biological lack of sunlight leads to decreased serotonin and increased melatonin production, which is a direct biological trigger for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and deep winter lethargy.

The ancient solution to this biological depression was the mass lighting of thousands of Diyas (earthen oil lamps). This served a profound dual purpose. First, the warm, yellow-spectrum light acted as a visual and psychological stimulant, actively combating the mental weight of the encroaching winter darkness.18

Second, and more importantly, these lamps were not fuelled by cheap wax. They were traditionally fuelled by specific lipids — pure cow ghee, sesame oil, or mustard oil.19 When these specific organic oils are combusted, they release subtle antimicrobial aerosols into the air. This process gently sanitizes the stagnant, moisture-heavy autumn air, effectively reducing the spread of airborne winter respiratory infections.20 Diwali was designed as a massive, synchronized act of atmospheric healing and mental health therapy.

Ritualisation and Obscurantism

I state this with absolute clarity: Diwali represents the most severe, destructive deviation from scientific intent of any festival on the planet. An observance engineered to literally clear the air and provide soothing psychological light has been violently usurped by the industrial detonation of pyrotechnics.21

Religion and commercialism dictate that bursting crackers proves your devotion and cultural pride. The mass burning of modern firecrackers releases catastrophic levels of Particulate Matter (PM2.5), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and highly toxic heavy metals like barium, lead, and cadmium into the breathing zone.21 Instead of purifying the atmosphere, the modern iteration of Diwali triggers massive, deadly spikes in asthma, cardiovascular distress, and acute respiratory failure across our cities.21 Furthermore, the noise pollution, frequently exceeding 120 decibels, inflicts severe physiological trauma on human nervous systems, infants, the elderly, and local wildlife.

Future Relevance and Diaspora Effects

The psychological need for light and warmth during the onset of winter remains a permanent human requirement. When the diaspora celebrates Diwali in the West, the psychological comfort of light is highly effective against the brutal Western winters.22 Fortunately, strict noise and air pollution laws in countries like Australia and the UK often force the diaspora to abandon firecrackers, inadvertently returning the festival closer to its sustainable, indoor roots.

Knowledge Transfer and Critique

My critique is absolute and unyielding. The combustion of chemical explosives has zero foundation in ancient science, agronomy, or traditional human welfare. It is a modern, commercial aberration driven by ego. To restore Diwali to its true purpose, we must entirely abandon pyrotechnics. We must return to the widespread, quiet use of biodegradable earthen lamps fuelled exclusively by cold-pressed botanical oils.

Diwali Purpose Evaluation Checklist:

• [ ] Health: Are my actions providing psychological warmth and peace to my household without causing noise trauma to others?
• [ ] Ecology: Am I using only biodegradable earthen lamps fuelled by natural oils (sesame, ghee, mustard)?
• [ ] Society: Have I absolutely refused to purchase or detonate any chemical firecrackers that pollute the communal air?
• [ ] Mindset: Is my goal to conquer internal darkness and atmospheric stagnation, rather than participating in a competitive, toxic display of wealth and noise? Result: If the majority are ‘No’, you are actively harming human lungs and the earth. Better not to do it.