festivals

The major festivals celebrated in Warangal include the following:

• Maha Shivaratri – A festival dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva, where people observe fasts and pray to the Lord.
• Bathukamma – A festival celebrating Telangana’s cultural identity; majorly celebrated by the women here.
• Ugadi – A harvest festival that also marks the beginning of a new year according to the Telugu calendar; this is celebrated all over the south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
• Bonalu – A Hindu festival celebrated in July/August every year in Telangana; on this occasion, Goddess Mahankali is worshiped.
• Navratri and Dussehra – A 10-day Hindu festival, where Goddess Durga is worshipped – Navaratri is the first 9 days and the 10th day is Dussehra.
• Deepavali – The festival of Lights; India’s most popular and widely celebrated festival.
• Peerla Pandaga/Muharram – A Muslim festival during which a relic called Alam is taken out as a procession at an area called Ashurkhana, which represents a group of Sufi Shrines. Muslims across Telangana participate in it by gathering together in the procession and chanting “Ya Hussain”.
• Christmas – A Christian festival commemorating birth of Jesus; most Christians and Hindus also celebrate this famous festival here.