HYDERABAD: The entire Secunderabad wore a festive look as thousands of devotees thronged the famous Sri Ujjaini Mahankali temple as well as several other Mahankali temples in Secunderabad on Sunday on the occasion of Bonalu, an important festival in Telangana , particularly in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Held in the month of Ashadham, the festival is celebrated to ward off evil and usher in good health, peace and prosperity. The government accorded the status of ‘state festival’ to Bonalu after the formation of the new state in June 2014.
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, ministers N Indrakaran Reddy, Nayini Narasimha Reddy and T Srininas Yadav and a host of political leaders visited the temple and offered prayers. Earlier, a procession was organised with TRS MP and chief minister’s daughter K.Kavitha carrying Bangaru Bonam to the temple and offered it to the Goddess in a vessel made of gold on behalf of the state government.
Lashkar Bonalu began early in the morning with a large number of devotees, especially women, dressed in their best and traditional attire and carrying ‘bonam’ (a pot filled with rice, turmeric powder, jaggery, curd and covered with neem leaves and a lamp placed on it) on their heads to Goddess Mahankali and other Goddesses at various temples in Secunderabad. ‘Potharajus’ and ‘Ghatams’, to the accompaniment of ‘teen maar’ drumbeats and Telugu folk songs, went round the area and through every lane and bylane.
Temples were decked up for the festival with special illumination, buntings and festoons. Devotees from surrounding districts including Rangareddy, Medchal, Medak, Vikarabad and Mahbubnagar too visited the temple and offered prayers. Separate queues were arranged for those carrying bonalu and differently-abled persons.
As the sun set, these places of worship glittered in the light of colourful bulbs. The Mahankali temples at numerous places in the city were also thronged by devotees. Over 10 lakh devotees are expected to visit the various temples till late in the night.
The festival will conclude on Monday with ‘Rangam’ (forecast for the next one year) by ‘Swarnalata’, an oracle (a young unmarried woman) between 9 am and 9.30 am on Monday. It will be followed by a procession in which a Mahankali idol will be carried on an elephant.
What’s on the head?
The bonam, which the female devotees carry on their heads, are pots filled with rice, tumeric powder, jaggery, curd, and are covered with neem leaves
Jogini Shyamala faces humiliation
Jogini Shyamala, once a well-known attraction on Bonalu festival processions, on Sunday said that she was humiliated by the police who pushed her away when she was going to the Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad.
“I have never faced such humiliation in the last 25 years. The police saw the bonam(offering) on my head but they still pushed me away,” she said. She ‘cursed’ the government saying that it would face political problems in the near future. She said that it had failed in its task of making arrangements for the festival. “It is unfortunate that female devotees carrying the bonams are made to suffer in long queues before they are allowed to offer prayers. It is sad that VIPs, MPs and MLAs while others have to struggle like this are given direct access. Is this Bangaru Telangana?,” she asked