Bonalu, Hyderabad’s very own festival month kicks off
Hyderabad, June 27; Come Ashadam, the first month of monsoon, Hyderabad city will be decked up with all people gearing up for the month long festivities at their local deities. Bonalu, the festival to appease Goddess Mahankali or Durga, will be celebrated all across the city on different Sundays all through the month.
This Sunday marked the formal start of Bonalu at Golkonda Fort. After the festival is kicked off at this historic fort, it is then celebrated across the city. Next Sunday marks the major Bonalu festival which will be held at Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad. This will be followed by different Goddess temple in all the localities.
Bonalu has its own scientific significance also. During this festival all the houses are decked up with neem leaves and all women are seen with turmeric applied. The initial days of monsoon will be the hot bed for water borne and air borne diseases. Hence neem and turmeric have huge role in controlling the spread of these diseases.
Bonalu is colourful festival with all the local street Goddess’ temples lighted and decorated beautifully. The messenger of Goddess, Potharju, is seen making way for the festival almost three days before the arrival.
There is Bonam that the women carry to present it to the Goddess. Bonam is a small bowl with jagerry water, need leaves. The bowl is closed with a plate and above the plate a light is lit. This entire thing is carried on head by the woman and presented to the Goddess. The visual of all the women carrying Bonalu is something to be seen.
At the end of the day, phalahara bandi parade is done. These are vehicles decked up to the capacity of the devotee and they present large quantities of fruits to the temple. The parade of vehicles happens at night and goes on till early morning.
Next day to the festival, Rangam is held. In this event, Goddess herself directly answers questions about the future and also predicts the next one year. Overall, a local festival which has drawn more significance after formation of Telangana, continues to be part of Hyderabad culture.
