Trip plan: This was an unplanned trip.Suddenly we planned to visit Golconda Bonalu and sooner we were in car and started to Golconda Fort to witness bonalu.
Journey from Raidurgam to Golconda fort !!!
We reached golconda fort parking area and parked our vehicle two kilometers far away, as the area was flooded by locales for bonalu offerings to goddess. we started walking through cantonment area and crossed their checkpost which leads us to golconda fort .
Welcome to Golconda for Bonalu Festival!!!
Standing in front of the fort at the entrance watching out the heavy crowd nearly about lakhs of people ,i was wondering will i be succeed in reaching the top of the fort for darshan of goddess and reach back to house...... or i will be in the next days news as a victim of stampede ......
yes you heard it right.....we are at the most prominent festival of Telangana called Golconda Bonalu..By seeing the crowd here i was little bit scary as everyone both male and female are in a chaste position almost drunk.I made my decision and moved ahead and succesfully reached on to the top of the Fort.
As a hearsay there was a cave or tunnel under the temple which directly leads a way to the great charminar.It is a secret passage used by kings during sudden attacks of war against fort but now the way was seized and no one can enter into it.
Any outsider of the twin cities (hyderabad, secundrabad) will have this question... what is Bonalu???
Bonalu is a famous gathering by people come together and celebrate offering bonam to the local goddess of that locality every year.
As the years passed the locals adapted traditions from all different areas of south,north and added some pep to this gathering with tribal dances ,playing trumphets etc..
Bonalu or Bhojanalu originated from a word bhojanam means food latered transfered to bonalu.
When Bonalu is celebrated !!!
This fair is celebrated in the telugu month of ashadam,which usually falls in the month of july or august in Twin cities.It is celebrated on every sunday in this whole month.This fair starts from Golconda and moves every sunday to another place in twin cities.Amongst all bonalu golconda bonalu occupied its special place in celebrations.Every year Golconda Maha kali bonalu fair starts from here later celebrated at other places in twin cities.
Why bonalu is celebrated ?
History behind the festival it is surrounded by pain and death.Due to plague out break in Twin cities in 1813, hundreds of people died.Due to this innocent people thought Goddess was angry on them so she need to be pleased thus she was offered bonalu in the form of cooked rice mixed with jaggery.Later to their faith twin cities were survived from plague.From then the custom of offering the bonam to goddess was started as tradition.
Initially the festival starts from Golconda Fort !!!
Golconda is the Fort of the Qutb Shahi dynasty rulers, inside the golconda fort next to the Ibrahim mosque and emperor's palace is the temple of goddess Sri Jagadamba Mahankali estimated approximately 900 years old.
Golconda Bonalu !!!
Early days it was only visited by shepards on the top of the hill for their animals gazing hence the fort locality was named as golconda means Gwala konda or hill of shepherds.
Intially during kaktiyan's rule they built a small fort later occupied by islamic dynasties like bahmani sulthans later qutb shahi's.The golconda acquired its glory during Qutb Shahi Sultan's.
Golconda Mahakali Temple
It is a very small temple on a hill within the fort premises ,recently a temple shed has been built. a flight of 300 steps required to reach the temple on top of the fort.During our climb we can the place around us is reverberated with devotion and we can observe the every step bedecked with turmeric and vermilion impressions. Finally taking some mini breaks reached to the temple premises in the flooded crowd.
The temple looks smaller and we need to flight few steps to have devi darshan and the temple entrance has 2 fiercy gate keepers statues usually every village goddess temple will have these statues and in local language we call them as Pothuraju's who act as dwarapalaka's to Goddess.The temple has two streches...one strech is modern temple and other strech is oldest in a small cave where the original idols are placed, to reach her we need to flight small set of narrow steps and the temple walls and rocks of cave has huge paintings of maha kali and durga on both sides.
During Bonalu - How celebration occurs....
1)Offering of Thottelu -- The decorative crowns are offered to goddess during Bonalu to goddess.
2) Offering of Bonam (jaggery rice) to the goddess in pots carring on their heads ,and these pots are decorated with turmeric, vermillion, neem leaves.
3) Some people makeup and dressup colourfully in the form of goddesses and pothuraju's and dance .Pothuraju's steal the show as during their dance they beat themselves with scourge.
On early morning of the festival women decorated in their tradition ware (sarees),carry pot with cooked rice ,jaggery and offer it to the goddess.Pot is decorated with flowers,neem leaves and painted with sacred symbols like om,swasthik and some prepare thottelu which are colourfully decorated by coloured papers to very great heights and offered to goddess.
How Thottelu are prepared ???
Starts well in advance ,it is decorated and usually there will be a competition among groups of locales to make the biggest Thotelu.
Pothuraju !!!
Pothuraju is said to be as brother of goddess and he joins the celebrations dancing as guardian to goddess.These people dance ferociously by beating themselves with korada and are well painted on face with different themes, adorn anklets,Jewelery,dance according to drum beats showing skills like breathing fire ,acrobatics,often going in a trance of state and forecast the future happenings.
Some during this time claim to be possessed with the ability to forecast the future happenings ,This is one of the main attraction at Secundrabad Ujjaini Mahakali temple.
Major areas of the bonalu celebrations in twin cities !!!
Journey from Raidurgam to Golconda fort !!!
We reached golconda fort parking area and parked our vehicle two kilometers far away, as the area was flooded by locales for bonalu offerings to goddess. we started walking through cantonment area and crossed their checkpost which leads us to golconda fort .
Welcome to Golconda for Bonalu Festival!!!
Standing in front of the fort at the entrance watching out the heavy crowd nearly about lakhs of people ,i was wondering will i be succeed in reaching the top of the fort for darshan of goddess and reach back to house...... or i will be in the next days news as a victim of stampede ......
yes you heard it right.....we are at the most prominent festival of Telangana called Golconda Bonalu..By seeing the crowd here i was little bit scary as everyone both male and female are in a chaste position almost drunk.I made my decision and moved ahead and succesfully reached on to the top of the Fort.
Any outsider of the twin cities (hyderabad, secundrabad) will have this question... what is Bonalu???
Bonalu is a famous gathering by people come together and celebrate offering bonam to the local goddess of that locality every year.
Bonalu or Bhojanalu originated from a word bhojanam means food latered transfered to bonalu.
When Bonalu is celebrated !!!
This fair is celebrated in the telugu month of ashadam,which usually falls in the month of july or august in Twin cities.It is celebrated on every sunday in this whole month.This fair starts from Golconda and moves every sunday to another place in twin cities.Amongst all bonalu golconda bonalu occupied its special place in celebrations.Every year Golconda Maha kali bonalu fair starts from here later celebrated at other places in twin cities.
Why bonalu is celebrated ?
History behind the festival it is surrounded by pain and death.Due to plague out break in Twin cities in 1813, hundreds of people died.Due to this innocent people thought Goddess was angry on them so she need to be pleased thus she was offered bonalu in the form of cooked rice mixed with jaggery.Later to their faith twin cities were survived from plague.From then the custom of offering the bonam to goddess was started as tradition.
Golconda is the Fort of the Qutb Shahi dynasty rulers, inside the golconda fort next to the Ibrahim mosque and emperor's palace is the temple of goddess Sri Jagadamba Mahankali estimated approximately 900 years old.
Golconda Bonalu !!!
Early days it was only visited by shepards on the top of the hill for their animals gazing hence the fort locality was named as golconda means Gwala konda or hill of shepherds.
Intially during kaktiyan's rule they built a small fort later occupied by islamic dynasties like bahmani sulthans later qutb shahi's.The golconda acquired its glory during Qutb Shahi Sultan's.
Golconda Mahakali Temple
It is a very small temple on a hill within the fort premises ,recently a temple shed has been built. a flight of 300 steps required to reach the temple on top of the fort.During our climb we can the place around us is reverberated with devotion and we can observe the every step bedecked with turmeric and vermilion impressions. Finally taking some mini breaks reached to the temple premises in the flooded crowd.
The temple looks smaller and we need to flight few steps to have devi darshan and the temple entrance has 2 fiercy gate keepers statues usually every village goddess temple will have these statues and in local language we call them as Pothuraju's who act as dwarapalaka's to Goddess.The temple has two streches...one strech is modern temple and other strech is oldest in a small cave where the original idols are placed, to reach her we need to flight small set of narrow steps and the temple walls and rocks of cave has huge paintings of maha kali and durga on both sides.
During Bonalu - How celebration occurs....
1)Offering of Thottelu -- The decorative crowns are offered to goddess during Bonalu to goddess.
2) Offering of Bonam (jaggery rice) to the goddess in pots carring on their heads ,and these pots are decorated with turmeric, vermillion, neem leaves.
3) Some people makeup and dressup colourfully in the form of goddesses and pothuraju's and dance .Pothuraju's steal the show as during their dance they beat themselves with scourge.
On early morning of the festival women decorated in their tradition ware (sarees),carry pot with cooked rice ,jaggery and offer it to the goddess.Pot is decorated with flowers,neem leaves and painted with sacred symbols like om,swasthik and some prepare thottelu which are colourfully decorated by coloured papers to very great heights and offered to goddess.
How Thottelu are prepared ???
Starts well in advance ,it is decorated and usually there will be a competition among groups of locales to make the biggest Thotelu.
Pothuraju !!!
Pothuraju is said to be as brother of goddess and he joins the celebrations dancing as guardian to goddess.These people dance ferociously by beating themselves with korada and are well painted on face with different themes, adorn anklets,Jewelery,dance according to drum beats showing skills like breathing fire ,acrobatics,often going in a trance of state and forecast the future happenings.
Some during this time claim to be possessed with the ability to forecast the future happenings ,This is one of the main attraction at Secundrabad Ujjaini Mahakali temple.
Major areas of the bonalu celebrations in twin cities !!!
- Golconda
- Ujjaini maha kali (secundrabad)
- laad bazar (charminar)
- Balkampet yellamma
- It is the celebration of locales,usually all men and women will drink liquor ,so dont get into arguement with them.
- Respect every culture and tradition
