Hyderabad: The colourful ashadamasam bonalu celebrations started on a colourful note at the historic Sri Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad on Monday. Backward Classes Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who is also in-charge Minister for Hyderabad, and his family members offered first ‘bonam’ to the goddess Sri Mahankali in the early hours. He along with other officials participated in the first ‘harathi’ after offering the ‘bonam.’ The temple was decorated with colourful flowers and LeD lights to mark the occasion. The lanes and bylanes in Secunderabad and its surroundings wore a festive atmosphere. A large number of devotees, especially women clad in pattu sarees thronged the temple to offer ‘bonam’ laced with cooked rice and jaggery in an earthen pot decorated with turmeric and vermillion as thanksgiving to fulfill their wishes. They also offered ‘saaka’ containing pure water with neem leaves to the goddess Sri Mahankali. The women heaved a sigh of relief as a separate queue was provided to them to offer ‘bonam’. The main attraction of the festival is dancing of ‘potharajus’ with the body smeared with turmeric and vermillion paste to the pulsating ‘teen maar’ drumbeats. The devotees were seen waiting in queue since 3 am to have darshan of the goddess. The turnout was normal till 7 am and as the day progressed devotees swelled utilizing all the queues that were arranged from General Bazaar, Subash Bazaar and other routes connecting the temple. The lanes in Secunderabad reverberated with Bonalu folk songs. In the evening, several youth associations took out ‘phalaharambandi’ processions to the temple. On its part, the police department deployed over 2,500 personnel for the smooth conduct of the festival ensuring proper queue system to avoid any inconvenience to devotees. More women constables were deployed to keep a tab on pickpockets and mobile phones thieves.
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