{"id":19398,"date":"2025-07-07T18:08:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T12:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/traveldiary\/?p=19398"},"modified":"2025-07-07T18:11:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T12:41:46","slug":"why-is-bonalu-festival-celebrated-in-hyderabad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/traveldiary\/why-is-bonalu-festival-celebrated-in-hyderabad\/","title":{"rendered":"This 200-Year-Old Festival Turns Telangana Into a Living Temple Every Year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bonalu
Source: freepik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bonalu is the most vibrant and spiritual festival in South India. It is observed with unwavering faith in Telangana, particularly in areas such as Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Malkajgiri. Goddess Mahakali is worshipped in Bonalu for safeguarding human beings against diseases and calamities.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re a culture travel enthusiast, this is the best time to visit South India. You can plan your trip, book cheap <\/span>flights to India<\/span><\/a> with Indian Eagle, and join this month-long Telangana Bonalu Festival<\/a> 2025 celebration of happiness, food, music, and devotion.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Bonalu?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Bonalu is an old Hindu festival celebrated in the month of Ashada from July to August. It’s a thanksgiving festival to Goddess Mahakali for protecting people from epidemics, especially after a plague outbreak over a century ago. During this festival women carry nicely decorated earthen vessels with rice, jaggery, curd, and neem leaves called Bonam to be presented as an offering to the goddess. The 22-day-long festival is marked by processions, folk dance, temple ceremonies, and public feasts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unique Grace of Bonalu in Telangana<\/b><\/h3>\n

What sets Telangana\u2019s Bonalu celebrations apart is the way the festival is celebrated in various parts of the city across weekends. Each location from the Golconda Fort to the Ujjaini Mahakali Temple at Secunderabad and Lal Darwaza in Old City has its own version of Bonalu with distinctive rituals, folk dance, and processions. This celebration provides travelers with the opportunity to observe a diverse yet united identity while worshiping the same deity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The spirit of devotion is felt everywhere as there are streets filled with the rhythm of drums, decorated pots, colorful sarees, and community feasts. Each celebration has its local traditions, but together they reflect Hyderabad\u2019s multicultural and harmonious spirit.\u00a0 It’s not a festival, it’s an experience that unites the city in beauty and splendor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where is Bonalu Celebrated?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The grand celebrations take place on Sundays\u00a0 at the following locations:<\/span><\/p>\n