“In Telangana culture, Shiva Shakthis don’t just take part in Bonalu rituals. We lead it. We carry the ghatam and perform the rituals. People come to us, and seek blessings.

Every year during Ashada Masam, we visit Mahankali temples across Hyderabad—Ujjaini Mahankali Ammavaru, Lal Darwaza Simhavahini Ammavaru, Balkampet Yellamma Thalli, Akkanna Madanna Mahankali Ammavaru. Each temple has its own day and customs. There are dappu beats, Bonam processions, and families walking barefoot, carrying their offerings in new pots.

We carry the ghatams and dance. And when sigam comes, it just happens. It’s not something we force. Elders say the goddess enters us in that moment. People gather around, offer coconuts near us, and wait for a sign or word from Ammavaru.

People say Bonalu started more than 200 years ago, during a plague. Soldiers from Telangana who were in Ujjain prayed to Mahankali. They promised to offer Bonam if the people back home were saved. When the city recovered, they returned and started the tradition—cooking rice with jaggery and offering it in new pots with turmeric, bangles, and neem. Since then, we’ve followed this every Ashada Masam as a way of thanking Ammavaru.

We’ve been doing this since childhood. For everyone’s well-being.

This is how we carry the tradition forward.”