Overview
- Devotees gathered in large numbers at the Sri Jagadambika/Yellamma temple on Golconda Fort to offer bonam pots of cooked rice, jaggery, curd and neem as Bonalu ceremonies began.
- Traditional processions led by Potharaju dancers and Jogini performers filled the route with drumbeats, devotional songs and folk dances.
- Police and fort authorities set up barricades, traffic diversions, drinking water points, medical camps and sanitation teams to manage the heavy footfall and steep, barefoot climbs.
- Pilgrims queued from early morning and reported longer ascent times because of the crowd; a brief mid-afternoon rain drove many to shelter under the fort walls before activities resumed.
- Golconda’s observance starts a month of citywide Bonalu events across Hyderabad and Secunderabad, with major follow-up celebrations scheduled at Ujjaini Mahankali and Lal Darwaza in the coming weeks.