“During my childhood, the 10 days of Dussehra festival would be of a grandeur celebration. We would eagerly wait for the festival to meet all my cousins and relatives in one place. We also used to celebrate Bathukamma together singing songs together.

Over the years, things have changed and I began to feel that life had taken a materialistic turn, where traditional practices were no longer followed by people.

Nowadays, everything has become artificial including flower decorations and also the readymade food items which are purchased from the sweet shops. It bothers me a lot.

Even the traditional Bathukamma songs which we used to sing vocally have now changed and people are dependent on loud DJ music.

That’s certainly killing the true essence and culture of the festival. The responsibility lies on the youngsters to carry these traditions forward for the generations to come and l am trying my best to educate the youngsters to revive the long-lost traditions.”