Devotees seek blessings as the idol of Goddess Jagadamba is carried in a Bonalu procession at Golconda Fort in Hyderabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: SIDDHANT THAKUR
The annual Bonalu festivities began at the Golconda Fort on Sunday, with thousands of devotees thronging the Sri Jagadambika Temple to offer bonam amid elaborate rituals, colourful processions and heightened security arrangements. The celebrations at Golconda mark the beginning of the month-long Bonalu festivities across Hyderabad and Secunderabad.On Sunday morning, the imposing entrance of the historic fort was transformed into a sea of devotees. Thousands streamed through the gates, many leaving their footwear outside before walking barefoot up the hill to the temple. The partly cloudy skies offered some respite from the summer heat during the first half of the day, making the climb more comfortable for devotees.Women dressed in traditional attire carrying decorated pots containing cooked rice, jaggery, curd and neem leaves on their heads made a beeline to the temple to offer bonam to Goddess Jagadambika Mahankali. The rhythmic beats of dappu drums, energetic performances by Potharajus and vibrant folk artistes added to the festive atmosphere, while devotees queued up from the early hours for darshan.“We have been coming here for the last 10 years. Every year we come early, but today we got delayed and reached around 10 a.m. We are now heading to the temple at the top to offer prayers. If you come early, it usually takes about an hour to climb, but with the rush increasing, it will now take nearly two hours,” said Subhadra, a devotee from Hydershakote.
