HYDERABAD: All the Mahankali temples in Hyderabad including Old City, barring Secunderabad, will celebrate Bonalu festival on a grand scale on Sunday and Monday. All the temples and their surroundings have been colourfully decorated, with special lighting and colourful arches. Bonalu is an important festival of Telangana region particularly in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
The main festival will be held at the famous Lal Darwaza Mahankali Temple and the historic Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple, Hari Bowli in Shah Ali Banda, Gowlipura, Uppuguda, and several temples in the Old City. These temples have been decked up for the festival with special illumination buntings and festoons. Security has been beefed up at all the major Mahankali temples.
The 11-day festival will conclude on Monday with oracle’s prediction, ie, Rangam at 11 am at Akkanna Madanna temple in Haribowli followed by a combined procession on a caparisoned elephant, carrying ‘Ghatams’ of the Goddess Mahankali. The procession will pass through the main thoroughfares of Shalibanda, Charminar and Nayapul.
Sri Akkanna Madanna Mahankali Mandiram, Haribowli, Shalibanda, President, G.Niranjan said that after the Mahabhishekam at 6 am the temple will be opened for the devotees for darshan of Sri Mahankali Matha. Ammavaari Shanti Kalyanam will be held at 7 p.m.Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav will present silk clothes to the deities on behalf of the State government. Ministers Nayini Narasimha Reddy, N Indrakaran Reddy. T Padma Rao, TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy, and other eminent personalities will participate in the festival.
Places of the action
The main festival will be held at the famous Lal Darwaza Mahankali Temple and the historic Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple, Hari Bowli in Shah Ali Banda, Gowlipura and several temples in the Old City.