Dahi Handi Celebrated Across Thane and Mumbai as Govindas Form 10-Tier Pyramids
Festive fervour reached a crescendo on Saturday as mega-venues in Thane and streets across Mumbai were transformed into festive arenas. Thousands of govindas, both male and female, formed multi-tiered human pyramids to mark the Dahi Handi festival, an integral part of the Janmashtami festivities celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna.
Dressed in vibrant jerseys, troupes swarmed streets from early morning, travelling to major venues and open grounds across the metropolis in open trucks and tempos. After months of rigorous practice, young men and women risked bone-breaking falls to shatter curd-filled clay pots suspended several metres above the ground, competing to scale towering heights and win cash prizes worth lakhs.
Decorated with flowers and balloons, hundreds of handis were suspended after midnight across residential societies, busy intersections, and open grounds. Participating govindas formed towering human pyramids rising as high as 10 tiers to reach the suspended earthen pots filled with curd.
From the narrow alleyways of Lalbaug and Dadar in central Mumbai to mega-venues in Thane, the air hung heavy with the rhythmic beat of dhols. The electric atmosphere was further amplified by popular Bollywood and Marathi chartbusters blaring from high-decibel speakers across Parel, Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Bhandup, Mulund, Jogeshwari, Andheri, and neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai.
Dahi Handi events organised by politicians in Mumbai, Thane, and neighbouring areas have emerged as major attractions over the years. These prominent gatherings drew massive crowds throughout the day, featuring huge prizes, celebrity appearances, and live stage entertainment programmes.
To manage fall injuries resulting from the high climbs, civic authorities deployed emergency medical teams and kept over 100 hospital beds on standby across the region. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation made extensive arrangements to treat injured govindas, confirming in a release issued on Friday that beds were kept ready across 16 civic-run suburban hospitals, as well as Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Sion, KEM Hospital in Parel, and Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central.
Police forces also intensified field security to handle the massive influx of spectators, stepping up security and deploying heavy bandobast in sensitive areas and around key intersections where pyramids were constructed.
