Preparations are going on at a hectic pace for celebrating the month-long Bonalu festival beginning with prayers at the Jagadambika Temple atop the Golconda Fort. “This year the festival begins from Thursday when the procession will start from Langar Houz and will stop at this temple before the culmination of the parade at the Golconda Fort,” said Gubba Maharaj, the priest at the Bujli Mahankali Devalayam. Inside the fort, tents have been raised and railings erected for smooth passage of devotees and to prevent crowding. A section of the fort known as camel stables has been whitewashed and cleaned up. This is the area where families converge to pray, cook and feast together.
Bonalu is a unique festival celebrated in Hyderabad and Secunderabad with thanksgiving offerings known as bonam (literally food) made to the Goddess on Thursdays and Sundays for a month in Aashadam.
Ujjaini Mahankali Jatara in Secunderabad will be on July 17 and that in Lal Darwaza area on July 24. While festivities at these temples are celebrated with gusto, other temples dedicated to the Goddesses turn into zones for festive fervour for the month.
