Watch: Third-generation drummer keeps Bonalu tradition alive in Falaknuma

In Hyderabad’s Old City, Rajesh, a third-generation drummer, continues the vanishing tradition of beating the Dappu to announce Bonalu festival dates. Once widespread across localities, the custom now survives in only a few urban pockets and rural Telangana.

Hyderabad: Amid fading traditional practices, the old city still holds on to the custom of beating the ‘Dappu’ to announce Bonalu festival dates.

Rajesh, a third-generation drummer in his late 20s, moves through various localities in Falaknuma, beating the Dappu and calling out, “Vache Aadivaram Jangammet Bonalu” (Next Sunday, Bonalu in Jangammet). Each day, he stops in at least four colonies to remind families of the festival.

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“Today, Ujjaini Bonalu is being celebrated in Secunderabad. Next week, it’s Lal Darwaza in the old city. I go around informing people so they can prepare,” Rajesh told Telangana Today.

His grandfather, Pulli Narsiah, started the practice under the guidance of the local temple committee. After his death, Rajesh’s father, Balram, continued the tradition, which Rajesh now carries forward. He earns Rs 200 per colony from organisers and some additional money from the public.

For many children, a man beating a Dappu to announce Bonalu is unfamiliar in an era dominated by television and social media.

Parvathal Rajendar, a local community leader, said Rajesh’s grandfather was chosen by the temple committee when the practice was widespread. “Every Hindu-majority area had someone who beat the Dappu and informed residents about Bonalu. It is nearly extinct now,” he said.

The tradition, however, continues in parts of rural Telangana where the Dappu-drumming community remains active.