Dahi Handi

Dahi Handi(also known asGopal KalaorUtlotsavam)is anentertainmentandcompetitiveevent associated withKrishna Janmashtami, the Hindu festival celebrating the birth ofKrishna.
During the event, which takes place during August or September on the day afterKrishna Janmashtami. It involves communities hanging a clay pot filled with yogurt (dahi), butter, or another milk-based food at a convenient or tall height. Young men and women form teams, make ahuman pyramid, and attempt to reach or break the pot. As they do so, people surround them, sing, play music, and cheer them on. It is a public spectacle, and an old tradition. More recently, Dahi Handi was lavished with media coverage, prize money and commercial sponsorships.The event is based on the legend of the godKrishnaalong with his friends mischievously stealing butter and other curd from neighbouring homes in Gokul as a child. He is also calledMakhan chororbutter thief. The neighbours would try to avert his mischief by hanging the pots high out of his reach, but Krishna would find creative ways to reach them.
InMaharastra, Janmashtami is celebrated as Dahi Handi (dahi: curd,handi: earthen pot)It is organized roughly every August.The festival Gokulashtami, known as Krishna Janmashtami in the rest of the country, is the celebration of Krishna's birth and Dahi Handi is part of it.The event involves making ahuman pyramidand breaking an earthen pot filled with milk, curd, butter, fruits and water which is hung at a convenient height, thus imitating the actions of child Krishna.Sometimes the prize money is added to the pot instead.
The termsgovinda(also another name of Krishna) orgovinda pathakare used to refer to the people who participate in forming this human pyramid. They practise in groups weeks before the actual event. These groups are calledmandalsand they go around the local areas, attempting to break as many pots as possible during the event. Pyramid formation needs coordination and focus; the lowest layers consist of the most people, preferably sturdy, while the middle layer players need to pay attention to those below as well as those standing on their shoulders. The outer layer individuals need to focus on maintaining balance. As lighter people are needed higher up, the topmost layer usually has a single child. Breaking the pot usually ends up with the contents spilling over the participants.Traditionally, spectators throw water on the participants to deter them and people chant inMarathi"Ala re ala, Govinda ala" (govindas have arrived).The pyramid formation is often accompanied by crowds, music and dancing.
InAndhra PradeshandTelanganathis festival is celebrated as Utlotsavam (InTeluguUtti: a fibrous network sling to hang pots and Utsavam: Festival). At the famousTirupati Venkateswara Temple, this ancient sport is celebrated with great fervor on navami (the day after krishna janmastami).The processional deities of Sri Krishna Swamy andSri Malayappa Swamyare taken in a procession around the temple to the place just in-front of temple where Utlotsavam is performed.The sport is played in front of the deities by local youth to try and win the prize money which is tied to the end of a 25 foot long wooden post, smeared with sticky and other oily substances.
The participants form a pyramid consisting usually below 9-tiers, and are given three attempts to break the earthen pot. Every year thousands of people and hundreds ofgovindateams gather atPune, Mumbai andThane's Dahi Handi events. As of 2011, the prize money for the events usually range between₹1 lakh(US$1,200)–₹12 lakh(US$14,000) depending on the organizers and its sponsors.Each year, the prizes and scale of the celebrations increase due to the participation of political parties and commercialisation.
Local and state political parties like theNationalist Congress Party(NCP),Shiv SenaandMaharashtra Navnirman Sena(MNS), are active during this event, with each offering their own prize money. Each party sponsors its own set ofmandals.Their involvement has increased in the 2000s, thereby increasing competition and prize money. Thus, numerous teams compete against each other in successive events for the prizes throughout the city.Actors fromBollywood,Marathiactors and singers  take part in this event.Somemandalseven incorporated social messages likefemale foeticideor about the environment into their act; the Shiv Sena and MNS focus onMarathi culture.Some years,Castellersfrom Catalonia also take part in the competition.
In 2012, amandalcalled Jai Jawan Govinda Pathak fromJogeshwari, Mumbai, made an entry into theGuinness World Recordby forming a human pyramid of 9 tiers 43.79 feet (13.35 m) at the Dahi Handi event held in Thane; the previous record was held by Spain since 1981.A lobby pushed for the possibility of making it an official sport in the same year, while critics said that it should remain just a street celebration.
In 2008 amandalknown as Mazgaon Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal made the first ever 9-tier human pyramid in India at Vartak Nagar Thane.TheMazgaonarea is also known as a Dahi Handi Chi Pandhari as they have maintained and followed all the rituals for a long period of time.Also the Mazgaon Tadwadi Govinda Pathak made the first ever 6-tier, 7-tier and 8- tier pyramids.
The presence of these mass celebrations andmandalscause traffic congestion and problems like excessive littering.It also causes the issue ofsound pollution, with theSupreme Court of India's prescribed guidelines being 55–65decibels.
Participation carries a high risk of mortality. The number of injuries increased due to higher competition since 2000. A report in 2012 from theJournal of Postgraduate Medicine, concluded that "There is a considerable risk of serious, life-threatening injuries inherent to human pyramid formation and descent in the Dahihandi festival".It recommended safety guidelines like reducing the height of the pot, preventing children from participating and using safety gear.
In 2012, over 225govindaswere injured with one casualty; this was higher than the previous year's 205.The government of Maharashtra banned children below 12 years from participating in 2014.TheBombay High Courtlater ruled in August that the minimum age should be raised to 18 years and height of the pyramid should be no more than 20 feet due to safety reasons.The Supreme Court of India refused to clarify the Bombay High Court thereby upholding it, but various organizations have re-appealed on different legal grounds. They state that olympic sports are dangerous and cause injuries too, but that is not sufficient grounds to ban Olympic participation. Banning a religious tradition, they state, infringes on the religious rights of a particular community.Several parties have defied the ban.