The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Sundays call for festivities at these temples

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Monday, Jun 30, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Sundays call for festivities at these temples

Staff Reporter

Frequency of these celebrations increases during the Bonalu festival

Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

Festive fervour: A common scene on any Sunday at Lower Tank Bund with people celebrating thanksgiving ceremony at Sri Mysamma Temple. ---

HYDERABAD: Sundays are usually meant for rest and recuperation to prepare for the arduous week ahead. Needless to say, majority of roads are empty and lifeless.

Not so at roadside places at Lower Tank Bund, Begumpet, Osmania University and several other places liven-up with a constant buzz from dawn till dusk.

Abuzz with activity

Time and occasion are not of utmost importance for thanksgiving ceremonies, as residents from far and near throng Naga Renuka Devi temple at Osmania University, Sri Mysamma temple, Lower Tank Bund and other such temples on these days.

The ‘festivities’ continue almost through out the year.

Scenes like a row of makeshift tents with women folk, decked-up fully, performing ‘Puja’ amidst the cackle of children is a common sight at these places. The aroma of delicious food being prepared there, wafts through the air along these roads.

The Katta Mysamma temple of Begumpet and Public Gardens always seem to be gripped in a festive fervour on with vermillion and turmeric.

While, elders in the family are involved in cooking the food, youngsters have fun dancing to the tunes of drumbeats.

Traditional custom

“It’s a traditional custom. After fulfilment of their desires, devotees, to please the Goddess, conduct rituals by offering Bonam, a utensil containing cooked rice and jaggery.

Such Pujas can be taken up on Tuesdays also,” says Manager of Lower Tank Bund Sri Mysamma Temple V. Rami Reddy.

In the name of rituals, some devotees even sacrifice goats and hens. “Though sacrifice of goats is strictly prohibited by temples, devotees do not adhere to these rules. It is their faith,” says Mr. Rami Reddy. The intensity of these celebrations increases during the annual Bonalu festival, which is scheduled to commence from July 6 this year.

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Andhra Pradesh