Bonalu festival - Time to greet the Goddess

HYDERABAD: Bonalu, one of the most important and popular festivals in Telangana, is celebrated on a grand-scale in every nook and corner of the region in the month of Ashadam (July/August).

Special poojas are performed for the Goddess on the first and final day of the festival days. It is a kind of thanksgiving, in a way.

This time, the festival of Mahankali, will be celebrated in Secunderabad as Lashkar Bonalu on July 8 and 9 and Hyderabad on July 15 and 16. Bonalu begins with the festivities at the Golconda Mahankali inside the Golconda Fort and moves to Secunderabad's Ujjaini Mahankali Temple and later to the Old City.

The temples of the Goddess variously named as Mysamma, Pochamma, Yellamma, Pedamma, Dokkalamma, Ankalamma, Poleramma, Maremma, Pochamme, Maramma, Yellammma, Nookalamma etc are decorated with special illumination buntings and festoons ushering in the festival season.

The term Bonalu is derived form Bhojanalu or food which is offered to the Goddess. During this festival, women dressed in traditional clothes, perform a dance balancing exquisitely painted pots on the head adorned with neem branches and turmeric, vermilion (kunkum) or Kadi (white chalk) and a lamp on the top.

Their steps are perfectly matched to the mellifluous beats of songs sung in the praise of the Goddess. Usually, an offering to the Goddess like cooked rice is carried in the pots.

Male dancers follow in the footsteps of the women but the highlight of the festival is surely Pothuraju, believed to be the initiator of the festivities and protector of the village. Every group of devotees offers a Thottela (a small colorful, paper structure supported by sticks), as a mark of respect.

It is believed that the Goddess comes back to her maternal home during Ashada Maasam and hence, people come to see her and bring offerings to show their love and affection for her, just as they would prepare a special meal when their own daughter visits them.

Rangam or forecasting of the future is another ritual observed on the next morning of the festival. Women, presumed to be under a spell, predict the future for devotees interested in knowing the unknown. This takes place before the traditional procession rolls out.

It is said that Bonalu originated during the outbreak of plague in 1869 in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, which claimed many lives. People feared it was the wrath of the Goddess and started Bonalu to appease her or so goes the story.

The government is contemplating the declaration of Bonalu as a state festival soon, Endowments Minister C Ramachandraiah has announced.

At a review meeting a few days ago, the Mahankali temple committee members demanded that the state government declare Bonalu as a state festival. The endowments minister said he would take up the issue with chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

The state government has already declared Samakka Saralakka Jatara as a state festival and the same would be extended to Bonalu festival.