Hyderabad: The 400-year-old Sri Akkanna-Madanna Mahankali Mandiram will celebrate the 76th annual Bonalu and Mahankali Jathara festival this year on a grand scale. This historic temple, located at Hari Bowli in Shalibanda, has been the starting point of the annual Bonalu procession for over seven decades. A nearby dargah also receives special attention and is spruced up along with the temple every year by the organizers.
For this year’s celebrations, the temple committee is making all the necessary arrangements with the help of various government departments, including the Police, GHMC, Endowment Department, Electricity, HMWSSB, R&B, and Forest. The grand festival and procession will be held on July 29.
The Akkanna-Madanna temple and the dargah reflect the communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims in Hyderabad. Every year, the temple committee ensures that the dargah opposite the temple receives special treatment. Besides painting the shrine, the committee also offers a Chader on this occasion.
The historic temple began celebrating Bonalu from Friday. The dargah, believed to be as old as the temple from the Qutub Shahi period, attracts visitors’ attention. The temple committee cleans and paints the Dargah-e-Shareef located opposite the temple. “The Bonalu festival at Akkanna-Madanna temple would be incomplete without offering a Chadar at Dargah-e-Shareef by the committee. The dargah is painted and lit up each year along with the temple,” said SP Kranti Kumar, organizing secretary of AMMM.
Speaking to The Hans India, Kranthi Kumar mentioned that during the 11-day Bonalu festival, the dargah is also spruced up. Before inaugurating the photo exhibition at the temple and after performing pooja, dignitaries offer a Chader to the shrine. This temple reflects Hyderabad’s rich heritage. A photo exhibition will be held on Wednesday to trace the temple’s origins and evolution. Other cultural programs will continue until Monday.
According to the temple committee, this year’s Bonalu festival began on Friday with Maha Abhishekam to Sri Mahankali Matha and ‘Kalasha Sthapana’ followed by ‘Dwajarohana’. The festival will conclude on July 30 with ‘AshthadalaPadapadmaradhanPavithrosthavam’. On July 29, after Potharaju Swagatham and Rangam, the ‘Matha Ghatam’ will be taken out in a procession on a fully decorated elephant named Rupavathi, brought from Karnataka.
The temple committee members explained that Akkanna and Madanna were two brothers who served as commander-in-chief and Prime Minister during Tana Shah’s rule in the 17th century. They used to worship at this temple before heading to Golconda fort for their day’s work. After their deaths, the temple was closed.
Following Hyderabad’s merger into the Indian Union in 1948, devotees were allowed to enter the temple from September 17, 1948. For the last 75 years, Bonalu and Mahankali Jathara have been organized on a grand scale. The temple authorities conduct a grand procession during Bonalu where Ammavaru is placed on a specially decorated elephant.
