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Facts to File
How far
: 2 km from Secunderabad
station
How to go
: By
auto.
Where to stay : Hyderabad / Secunderabad
Tucked away in the busy
General Bazaar bylane in Secunderabad is the famous historical
temple of Ujjaini Mahakali.
BONALU
One very important celebration is
the Ashada Jathara, starting on 20th July of every year. This is
popularly known as 'Bonalu'. On the first day, the Goddess is placed
on a pot and taken to each and every house in the area to enable
even the old and the handicapped to get a view of the deity.
On the first day of the Jathara, women take headbath
and wear festive clothes. Food (bonam) is cooked as per the pledge
taken by them. It is placed in a vessel decorated with neem leaves
and a Jyothi (an oil lamp in a shallow earthen dish) on top. Women
go to the temple carrying it on their heads and offer the bonam to
the deity. Hence the Jathara acquired the name `Bonalu'- plural of
bonam. Some women fill the vessels with water mixed with turmeric
powder and offer it to the Goddess along with neem branches. This is
called `Saka'.
People make choicest of eatables as an
offering to the deity. Outstation people come on decorated carts to
make their offerings to the Goddess. During the Jathara week the
city wears a festive look. Here and there one comes across
`Potharajus' (men), with turmeric powder paste smeared all over
their body, holding a yellow lemon between the teeth, sporting black
mascara for the eyes and a big red dot on the forehead, wearing
anklets with bells on the ankles dancing to the sound of heavy drum
beats. Thousands of these Potharajus literally dance their way to
the temple followed by thousands of cheering people. All these
processions culminating at the temple is a sight worth watching.
The second day's festivities are called `Rangam' or
stage festivities. In the sanctum sanctorum, a twenty seven - year
old unmarried girl, standing on a raw pot in front of the idol
looking straight into the Goddess' eyes, is possessed by Mahakali,
portends the general trend of things to come and important events.
Large number of people gather to witness this event which starts
early in the morning and continues till 8.30 A.M.. After this she
goes to many other temples and repeats this prophesy. Whoever does
this `Rangam' act remains unmarried for life.
A little later, two Potharajus dancing ferociously to
the heavy drum beats go round the temple. Many devotees gather to
witness this. Around 10 A.M. a heavily decorated Mahakali's photo
placed on an elephant accompanied by music band is first taken
around the temple and later through the streets of the city. It is
accompanied by the Potharajus and lots of devotees.
LEGEND
As
the legend goes, in 1813 Surabhi Appa Rao of Secunderabad, working
in the military was transferred to Ujjain. When cholera broke out
there, he went with his friends to a Mahakali temple and prayed to
the Goddess to save the people from the epidemic, pledging to build
a temple in Secunderabad in Her name. Cholera abated and thousands
of people were saved due to the grace of the Goddess.
Three years later, Surabhi Appayya and his
friends kept their pledge by installing a woodden statue of
Mahakali, where the present temple is situated, with pooja
facilities provided for. As per the story, the present bustling
place was once a thick dense forest with mountains. There was a big
well in the area and while they were getting it repaired, an idol of
Manikyala Devi was found, which was installed in the sanctum
sanctorum of the temple to the right of Mahakali.In 1864 the woodden
idols were replaced with the present statues and regularly
worshipped ever since. The temple was taken over by the Endowments
Department in 1953 and many events are celebrated
there.
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