The lanes and by-lanes in Secunderabad wore a festive look, as thousands of devotees thronged the famous Sri Ujjaini Mahankali temple and several other Mahankali temples on Sunday and offered prayers to the goddess, on the occasion of Bonalu. Bonalu, an important festival of Telangana, held in the month of Ashadam, is celebrated to ward off evil and usher in peace and harmony.
Secunderabad Bonalu popularly known as Lashkar Bonalu began with women dressed in their best traditional attire walking to Mahankali temples, carrying bonam (a brass or earthen pot of rice, turmeric powder, jaggery and curd, covered with neem leaves and a burning lamp on it) and offering prayers. The temple doors were thrown open early on Sunday morning and devotees kept pouring in a steady stream.
Pothrajus and ghatams accompanied by teen maar drumbeats and Telugu folk songs reverberated in all lanes. Several devotees offered a Thottela (a small colourful, paper structure supported by sticks) as a mark of respect. City police made elaborate security arrangements for smooth conduct of the festival.
Devotees also thronged different Mahankali temples at Ramgopalpet, Pan Bazar, Mettuguda, Bhoiguda, RP road, MG road, Paradise, Ranigunj and YMCA.
All temples small and big, were crowded with devotees and decorated with neem and mango leaves. In the evening, these places of worship glittered under the light of colourful bulbs. Many cultural programmes were also arranged in the temples.
Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu, TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao along with his family, ministers M Mukesh Goud, D Nagender, TJAC convener M Kodandaram, mayor B Karthika Reddy and other leaders and government officials, offered prayers at the Ujjaini Mahankali temple.
Rangam Today: The festival will conclude on Monday with a procession of Mahankali on an elephant. Rangam, foretelling of the future by a young unmarried woman, will be performed at 9 a.m on Monday.

Ban likely on improperly dressed tourists in all Goa temples - via Commons.

The ban on visitors wearing indecent clothes, is likely to be extended to more temples in Goa, with a right wing organisation deciding to lend its support to the campaign on the issue.

Gomant Mandir and Dharmik Sanstha Mahasangh (GMDSM), a federation of various temple committees in Goa, has said that it will convince the temple managements to ensure that the visitors are properly dressed.

Goa has more than 1,000 temples across the state.

GMDSM coordinator Jayesh Thali said that the idea to convince the rest of the temple managements came up only after two temples in the state took up a dress-code initiative.

The organisation has said that the improperly dressed or short-dressed visitors should be barred from entering the temples.

Two of Goa’s leading temples have already asked the visitors, especially foreigners, to either dress properly or not to enter the temple premises. Mahalsa Narayani Temple at Mardol, 20 kms away from here, has already banned the entry of foreigners.

Thali told PTI that the steps taken by both the temples are worth appreciating. "The decision taken by the management of the temple is an ideal one and worth emulating by all temples," he said.

The management of the temples that imposed a ban had said that indecent behaviour by the visitors was hurting the religious sentiments. They had said that since the visitors, especially foreigners, were not properly informed about the religious practices here, they indulge in indecent behaviour.