Coronavirus pandemic in the State has impacted even the traditional Bonalu festival this year.
The government has decided to keep the celebrations a low-key affair to avoid large gatherings or processions. Traditional pujas, offering of clothes to Goddess Mahankali and other rituals will be confined to the temples at Secunderabad, Lal Darwaja and Golconda by only the priests.
With the rise in incidence of coronavirus, the government has asked devotees to celebrate the festival at their houses and not to visit the temples.
The Ashada Bonalu festival is slated to begin from the last week of June. A major event in the State, it is known for colourful processions and other rituals.
Ministers Mohammed Mahmood Ali and Talasani Srinivas Yadav convened a meeting of senior officials, legislators and representatives of the temples’ committees on Wednesday to discuss the arrangements that should be made for the festival.
The meeting also discussed about the recent Central government guidelines allowing reopening of temples but prohibiting large gatherings, congregations and physical offerings in temple premises.
Mr. Srinivas Yadav said that the government has decided to celebrate the festival in a simple way due to the current situation arising out of COVID-19. Accordingly, it was resolved to ensure that traditional Bonams would be offered to the Goddess by priests within the temples and the Ghatam, the traditional copper pot usually carried in processions, would be confined to the respective temple premises.
Endowments department officials would offer the Pattu Vastrams to the Goddess in different temples.
Festival in Aashadam
Bonalu in Hyderabad will be celebrated in the Hindu calendar month of Aashadam.
The festival sees colourful processions and families stepping out to nearby temples for prayers and make offerings to the Goddess. The celebrations in Hyderabad begin at the Jagadamba temple on the Golconda Fort in the first week of Aashadam before moving on to other Mahankali temples on four successive weeks. It culminates with parading of the presiding deity of Mahankali temple on an elephant through the streets of Old City ending near the Musi at Naya Pul.
“People are being told to celebrate the festival at home. We want the procession to be a limited affair with temple priests and officials keeping in mind the threat of COVID-19 spread. We don’t want the centuries-old tradition to be broken,” said G. Niranjan of Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple.
Ironically, the festival is celebrated to appease the Goddess to keep infectious diseases at bay. The Ujjaini Mahankali temple was built by a benefactor as a tribute for saving the city from a cholera epidemic in 1813.
