 "Bonalu 2022: Here’s all you need to know about month-long Telangana festival")
Bonalu is an annual festival that is grandly celebrated by the Hindu community in Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Devotees in large numbers observe this festival by worshiping Goddess Mahakali, who they believe will protect her followers from any seasonal diseases, which are common during the monsoon season.
This special festival is celebrated during Ashada Masam, which falls in July/August. This year, the month-long festival will end on 24 July. Special poojas are performed on the first and last day of the festival. Bonalu is considered to be a form of thanksgiving to Goddess Kali.
For the unversed, Bonam means meal or feast in Telugu, and signifies an offering to the Goddess. It shows the importance of food in the festivities, as special dishes are prepared in honour of the Goddess Mahakali.
History and Significance:
This festival dates back to the 19th century, when the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad experienced the outbreak of a deadly plague. After the plague wreaked havoc on thousands, a military battalion from the state, which was deployed in Ujjain, prayed to Goddess Mahakaali.
They also promised to build a temple in Secunderabad to the deity if the plague ended. When the plague finally stopped, they devoted themselves to the goddess and built a temple as promised. To please the goddess, they offered Bonam, which later became an annual tradition.
Bonalu involves the worship of Goddess Kali in various forms, including Mysamma, Dokkalamma, Pedamma, Pochamma, Yellamma, Poleramma, Ankalamma, among others.
How is the festival celebrated?
Women prepare rice, cooked with milk and jaggery in an earthen or brass pot, that is decorated with neem leaves, turmeric and vermilion. They then carry these pots on their heads, along with bangles and saree, to temples as an offering. Bonalu is celebrated across several parts of the cities with pomp and fervour.
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