Happy Bonalu 2023: Date, Time, History, Rituals, Significance

Happy Bonalu 2023: Bonalu is an annual Hindu tradition celebrated annually. Goddess Mahakali is commemorated with a colourful festival in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Women wearing traditional garb offer the goddess bonam, a Telugu word derived from the Sanskrit word Bhojanam that signifies meal or feast. People venerate Mother Goddess in regional forms such as Maisamma, Pochamma, Yellamma, Peddhamma, Dokkalamma, Ankalamma, Poleramma, Maremma, and Nookalamma on the occasion of Bonalu.

Where will Bonalu be in 2023?

The 21-day Bonalu festival. Every year, the twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad, as well as other regions of the state, participate in this festival. It is observed in the month of Ashada Masam, which typically occurs in July or August.

This year, the festival honouring the goddess Mahakali will be held from June 25 to July 16.

Why is Bonalu a holiday?

Bonalu is celebrated with pomp and circumstance in honour of the deity Mahakali. According to the most well-known Bonalu legend, the ideal time to offer Bonalu to the goddess is during Ashada Maasam, or the season from late June to August. It is thought that the goddess Mahakali has returned to her ancestral home. This practise is comparable to how a married daughter would be regarded if she vacationed with her parents every year and was lavished with attention.

The alternative folklore describes Mahakali as a saviour who rescued the people of Hyderabad and Secunderabad from the plague in the nineteenth century.

How does Bonalu get honoured?

During the Bonalu festival, families create and share offerings to the Mother Goddess with their loved ones and guests. For this significant event, women wear traditional Saris, jewellery, and other accessories. Teenage girls wear half-saris or lehengas paired with cholis, jewelery, and other traditional accessories. In addition to turmeric-vermilion, bangles, and a sari for the Mother Goddess, they transport pots of a special meal of rice cooked with milk and jaggery in a fresh brass or clay pot with neem leaves, turmeric, and vermilion on top.

When women carrying Bonalu approach the temple, water is poured on their feet to appease the Goddess’s aggression. Some tranced women perform balancing pot dances (Bonam) to the rhythmic beats of drums in homage to the native deity. In the past, a male buffalo was sacrificed in front of the temple to ward off evil spirits; however, roosters are now used in its stead.

Thousands of devotees congregate annually to honour Mahakali. On the first Sunday of Ashadham, festivities are held at the Jagadamba temple within Hyderabad’s Golconda Fort. In the Old City of Hyderabad, on the third Sunday, at the Pochamma and Katta Maisamma temples of Chilkalguda and the Matheswari temple of Lal Darwaza. People visit the Balkampet Yellamma Temple, the Ujjaini Mahakali Temple, and the Gandimaisamma Temple in Regimental Bazar in Secunderabad on the second Sunday. Bonalu is also celebrated at the Muthyalamma temple in Shah Ali Banda and the Akkanna Madanna temple in Haribowli.