Hyderabad: Few Pothurajus get to perform this year

• Pothurajus performing for a limited crowd by wearing face masks

• They are allowed to perform only for 30-40 minutes each day

• The performance is strictly restricted to major temples 

Hyderabad: Come Bonalu festival, the city and the Telangana State reverberates religious fervor with women devotees carrying bonams (offerings) to goddess Mahakali. Bonalu festival is synonymous with Pothrajus displaying traditional performance par excellence and entertaining the crowd. However, even though the pandemic has cast its shadow over the bonalu festivities, the Pothurajus are playing their pivotal role. Because of social distancing, the audience is very limited, but the Pothurajus have been performing with same energy and devotion for the goddess Maha Kali. "The high energy to perform comes out automatically while we play shigam," says Pothurajus of Telangana.

"I miss the bliss this time, still we perform for limited people following social distancing. We are habituated to perform in front of hundreds of devotees, many of the community people used to dance along with us, when we are hired by families we used to start dancing from the doorsteps of their house to the temple nearby. I truly miss those cheers in this pandemic," says Venu Pothuraju, from Secunderabad.

"We just can't take it for granted our 100 years of tradition because of this coronavirus pandemic. Though we are restricted to perform, we are performing at all the major temples for around 30 to 40 minutes by wearing masks and following all covid norms," said G Hemanth, an auto driver from Bowenpally, who also plays Pothuraju during Bonalu festival.

"Not all families are permitted for the Bonalu processions in any area. Only very few families such as political leaders of the area or any committee members of the colony are permitted to take Bonam and in most of the cases we just go to temple and present Bonam then come back due to restrictions. It just takes a few minutes," said Sai Mudiraj, Pothuraju from Yousufguda.