Bonalu gets off to a colourful start

Hyderabad, July 16 (UNI) The Bonalu festival began on a colourful note today with a large number of devotees thronging the historic Ujjaini Mahankali Temple in Secunderabad to offer prayers.

Women attired in colourful sarees queued up in large numbers to offer prayers to Goddess Mahankali. All the lanes and bylanes were chocked with pilgrims while 'potharajus' danced in gay abandon.

The festival would conclude next week with the performance of 'rangam,' a ritual in which a woman forecasts the future.

Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu and Hyderabad Urban Development Authority Chairman T Krishna Reddy and several other leaders also offered prayers on the occasion.

UNI AP JJ 1942