Bonalu Festival

In Context

• Bonalu is an annual festival celebrated in twin cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and parts of Telangana.

About the Festival

• The festival is dedicated to Goddess Mahakali, as ber belief, a ferocious avatar of Goddess Durga.
• The word “Bonam” signifies a meal or a feast in Telugu. 
• During this, the devotees offer rice cooked with milk and jaggery in an earthen or brass pot, which is decorated with neem leaves, turmeric and vermilion. Women carry these pots on their heads to temples.
• Apart from Yellamma, during the Bonalu festival, the different forms of Mahakali are worshipped, including Mysamma, Dokkalamma, Pedamma, Pochamma, Yellamma, Poleramma and Ankalamma.

Source: ET