The much-awaited festival of Janmashtami, colloquially called “dahi handi” was celebrated across the city and neighbouring districts on Thursday.
Numerous teams of govindas or revellers could be seen on city streets teemed to form a human pyramid to reach the earthen pot filled with curd, and more importantly the cash prizes dangling from a height. The festival is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Krishna.
With revelry in air and foot-tapping music driving the adrenaline rush, Bollywood celebrities too let their hair down at the festival. Actor Shah Rukh Khan was seen shaking his leg at the dahi handi festival organised by MNS MLA Ram Kadam in Ghatkopar.
A cash reward of `50 lakh has been announced for the govinda mandal which manages to break the pot by forming a nine-layer pyramid. Similarly, dahi handis with lucrative cash prizes are being organised in Thane, prominent being the one organised by the Sangharsh Mandal of NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad. Minister of state for housing Sachin Ahir has organised the event in suburban Worli.
Not far behind its opponent to score political mileage, BJP has distributed masks and T-shirts bearing the image of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, to 30,000 Govinda teams, apparently to project him as the party’s prime ministerial candidate.
The revelry was accompanied by injuries of govindas as they attempted to form the human pyramid. However, apart from the accident injuries that the govindas suffered during the commute, there were fewer falls as compared to previous
years. Till Thursday evening, 365 injured govindas were taken to
hospitals across the city. Most of the injuries
were minor or fractures at the most. Sixty-eight of the injured govindas were also discharged after treatment on OPD basis. A few, though, were serious.
“We commonly get to see vertebral fracture, spine injuries, heel fractures and sometime fatal head injuries too. They cannot be prevented because of the height from which they fall, the large crowd, and unavailability of easy and quick medical help at the venue. However, one can prevent mishaps if first aid is available readily. They should have proper training and months of practice before they perform. Also, the organisers should not tie the handi very high,” said Dr Rahul Shah, orthopedic surgeon, Bhatia Hospital.