Bathukamma is Telangana's floral festival celebrated by the Hindu women of Telangana. Every year this festival is celebrated as per Hindu calendar in the Bhadrapada Amavasya, also known as Mahalaya Amavasya, usually in September–October of Gregorian calendar

Bathukamma is celebrated for nine days during Durga Navratri. It starts on the day of Mahalaya Amavasya and the 9-day festivities culminate on "Saddula Bathukamma" festival on Ashwayuja Ashtami, popularly known as Durgashtami which is two days before Dussehra.

Bathukamma celebrates the inherent relationship between earth, water and the human beings. During the entire preceding week, women make ‘boddemma’ (a deity of Gowri – mother Durga – made with earthly mud) along with Bathukamma and immerse it in the pond. This helps reinforce the ponds and helps it retain more water. Boddemma festival marks the ending of VarshaRuthu whereas Bathukamma festival indicates the beginning of Sharath Ruthu.

Bathukamma is a beautiful flower stack, arranged with different unique seasonal flowers most of them with medicinal values, in seven concentric layers in the shape of temple gopuram. In Telugu, ‘Bathukamma' means ‘Mother Goddess come Alive’ while Goddess Maha Gauri - ‘the Life Giver’ is worshipped in the form of Bathukamma. On this special occasion women dress up in the traditional saree,accompanied by traditional jewels and other accessories.

The flowers used in Bathukamma have a great quality of purifying water and such flowers when immersed in abundance into the pond have the effect of cleansing the water and making the environment much better.In times where the fresh water ponds are gradually diminishing and dwindling away, it is indeed a pride of Telangana that its womenfolk (with mostly agrarian background) inherently know how to contribute for the environment positively by celebrating the beauty of nature.

The festival heralds the beauty of nature, collective spirit of Telangana people, the indomitable spirit of women folk and also the scientific approach of the agrarian people towards preserving the resources of nature in a collaborative way. Hence, Bathukamma is considered the icon of cultural identity of Telangana.