Bonalu Celebrations Begin at Golconda Fort

Hyderabad:Bonalu festivities in Telangana commenced on Thursday with devotees offering the traditional first bonam at the Jagadamba Mahankali temple at Golconda Fort.

Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Konda Surekha offered the first Bonam to the presiding deity at Langar Houz crossroads, marking the formal start of the Ashada month celebrations.

Women carrying Bonam, accompanied by Pothuraju performers, took part in the procession amid drumbeats and ritual displays. The procession moved from Golconda through Chotta Bazaar, halting at the temple priest’s residence, where the deity’s idol was brought out and joined the procession. It later converged with groups of women carrying Bonam at Banjara Darwaza before proceeding to the temple at the fort.

The festival, which begins at Golconda, is observed across the Ashada month and will be held on Thursdays and Sundays over nine days.

Officials said the tradition dates back to 1813, when devotees are believed to have vowed offerings to Goddess Mahankali during a plague epidemic in Hyderabad. The practice has continued annually since.

Speaking on the occasion, Surekha said that Ashada Bonalu had commenced with the First Bonam and prayed that the blessings of Goddess Jagadamba of Golconda be upon us. She said that the Bonalu tradition has been continuing with grandeur in the twin cities for several hundred years and that Goddess Jagadamba of Golconda is a Goddess of great glory.

A Bonalu handicrafts fair was also inaugurated at the HMDA grounds, scheduled from July 16 to July 26. The fair provides artisans from across the State an opportunity to market their products directly.

Exhibits include terracotta items, earthenware, jute products, Gadwal sarees, Pochampally Ikat textiles, Nirmal toys and paintings, silver filigree, Warangal durries, Narayanpet handlooms, Pembarthi brass artefacts, bead craft, traditional medicines, and organic products, along with clay Ganesh idols for the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival.