HYDERABAD: The state festival of ‘Bonalu’ began with a low-key procession with fewer devotees than usual at Golconda’s Jagadamba temple here on Thursday. Around 10-15 devotees offered the first ‘Bonam’ to Goddess Jagadamba. The State government had announced that only the priest can offer Bonalu to deities at the temple. This year, the Bonalu procession was without its usual festivities, such as a band or the dance of ‘potharaju’.
Devotees also offered a small ‘thottelu’, unlike the heavily ornamented large paper structures that were offered during previous years. The month-long festival that began on Thursday at Golkonda will carry on as per schedule, albeit on a low-key profile, at Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad on July 12 and 13. On July 19 and 20, it will be held at Simhavahini Mahankali temple at Lal Darwaja and Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple at Moghalpura respectively.