Mumbai gears up for Dahi Handi, when human pyramids take over the streets

The Hindu

5 days ago

This August, Mumbai's streets will once again reverberate with 'Govinda aala re' as Dahi Handi a festival where people build human pyramids is celebrated. What started as a simple tradition has turned into a fiercely contested sport, with teams called Govinda Pathaks pushing hard to break records and showing off their strength, agility and teamwork.
Jai Jawan Govinda Pathak, a Jogeshwari-based team, is at the forefront of it all having set a Guinness World Records for the tallest human pyramid in 2012. Consisting of nine levels, it stood at an astonishing 44 ft. 'Jogeshwari East, where we live, had earned a bad reputation after the 1993 Mumbai riots. No one wanted to buy a home here and people hesitated to recruit our boys for jobs. Even rickshaw wallahs wouldn't come here. In 2000, I set up Jai Jawan Govinda Pathak to keep the boys engaged in fitness-related activities and away from bad influences,' says Sandeep Dhawale, founder and coach of the team.
What started with 15 boys has now grown to a team of 540, which includes a few girls who scale to the top. The participants themselves have shifted dramatically, from unemployed youth to professionals such as bankers, chartered accountants, lawyers, engineers and even a doctor. A sports management graduate handles the social media account for the team. The mud floor for practise has given way to mattresses and the prize money range from Rs 15 to 51 lakh.
Dahi Handi is celebrated the day after Krishna Janmashtami, also known as Gokulashtami, which marks the birth of Krishna. This year, it falls on August 15. Young Krishna's fondness for butter and curd led him to playfully pilfer these items from homes in Vrindavan and Gokul. Hence, women began to suspend curd pots from the ceilings. However, Krishna and his friends came up with a clever plan: they built a human pyramid, to reach the pot. Dahi Handi celebrates this fun, mischievous episode from Krishna's life.
In recent times, Dahi Handi has evolved into a competitive sport, particularly in Mumbai's Marathi-dominated areas such as Dadar, Lalbaug, Parel, Worli, Bhandup, Mulund, Andheri and Goregaon. Teams called Govindas, create towering human pyramids. Each level of the pyramid is called a 'thar'. The goal is to reach and break the earthen pot filled with dahi (curd), hung at a significant height. As the team moves closer to the pot, drum beats and Bollywood songs fill the air, fuelling excitement amongst onlookers. Inch by inch, the human pyramid rises, culminating in the youngest Govinda ascending its peak to reach the handi. The task is made more challenging as women, acting as the female cowherds from the story, throw water at the Govindas to stop the pyramid from being formed.
Over the past few years, Dahi Handi celebrations in Mumbai and surrounding areas such as Thane, Kalyan, Navi Mumbai and Panvel have increased in popularity. A big part of it is the strong backing from political parties. This, combined with hefty prize money, celebrity appearances and live entertainment draws in massive crowd and many Govinda teams.
'Local politicians have helped keep these traditional festivals alive. Whether it is Ganesh Utsav, Navratri or Dahi Handi,' says Sandeep, who spearheads the practise sessions that begin almost three months in advance. This has significantly lowered the number of injuries. 'Apart from fitness and regular practise, this sport is largely based on trust. We trust the people we climb on to stay firm. And when we fall we trust that there will be hundreds of hands to catch us,' he adds. At Jai Jawan, it's 15-year-old Sulaksha More who scales the top. The team's pyramid skills have also been featured in film such as S.S. Rajamouli's RRR and Mohanlal-starrer Malayalam film Kayamkulam Kochunni.
In 2022, an IPL-style franchise model 'Pro Govinda' was adopted for Dahi Handi. Not surprisingly, Jai Jawan won the championship in 2023, and again in 2024, winning a prize money of Rs. 25 lakhs both years. The sport has become more about strategy — placing the right person in the right place so as to create the perfect balance.