Bonalu celebrations begin June 26 at Golconda Fort and continue till July 27 across Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Old City with restored roads, temple decorations, and iconic elephants set to enhance the festive spirit.
Hyderabad: After the state government allocated Rs 20 crore for the celebration of the annual Bonalu festival, several temples where Goddess Durga and her forms are worshipped have sped up the activity for celebrating the monsoon festival. The festival will start on June 26 and continue till July 24.
Every year, the members of the temple committees receive financial assistance from the state government, with cheques being distributed 10 days ahead of the festival in that particular area.
Just days to go for June 26, the city temples are getting decked up. The Bonalu festival will be celebrated initially on the first Sunday of the Ashada Masam at Golconda. The temple of the deity Jagadambika Yellamma Talli, also known as Oruganti Yellamma by senior citizens of Golconda, inside the fort was recently inspected by transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar and Hyderabad Collector Hari Chandana Dasari.
At Golconda Fort, the Bonams are traditionally offered every Thursday and Sunday during the entire festive season till July 24.
After Golconda, the Bonalu festival is celebrated in Secunderabad, with the scheduled date being July 13 (Sunday), followed by Rangam on the next day, where the Oracle will give her predictions. After Rangam is performed, a procession is taken out.
After the celebrations in the Secunderabad area and its vicinity, on the next Sunday, the Bonalu festival is celebrated in the Old City — on July 20.
While painting works are underway at Lal Darwaza Temple, and a road leading to the place has also been restored, at the Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthanam in Secunderabad, the elephant from Anantapur will scale up the festive spirit at the Bonalu celebrations at this temple.
A couple of years ago, Gajalakshmi Menaka, featured in the Baahubali movie, was the attraction at the temple procession of Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthanam. “This same elephant will be used at the Akkanna Madanna Mahankali Temple in the Old City and for the Muharram procession too,” said an official from the endowments department.
In the city, the tradition is that the Bonalu festival commences in the Golconda area and its vicinity, and devotees in Narsingi, Manikonda, Suncity, etc., celebrate the festival, with the temple in Golconda Fort being one of the main places of worship, in addition to Katta Maisamma Temple in Sun City, also known as Kali Mandir, and other Ammavari temples.
After Golconda Bonalu, the festival is celebrated in Secunderabad, also popularly known as Lashkar Bonalu, with Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthanam being one of the main temples where people throng in large numbers. Lashkar is a Persian word which means military camp or encampment. Due to the military garrisons in that area, the locals called it Lashkar Bonalu.
Similarly, after the festival is celebrated in Secunderabad on July 13, on the next Sunday — July 20 — the festival is celebrated in the Old City, with Lal Darwaza Temple and Sri Akkanna Madanna Devalayam being the major temples in that area.
After the Old City, the celebrations are held on the following Sunday — July 27 — in the areas falling in the Ranga Reddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts. For the past couple of years, the Bonalu festival, which was confined only to Hyderabad and its vicinity decades ago, is also being celebrated in parts of Telangana.
