Height of celebration Mumbaikars hit the streets chanting 'Govinda ala re...'

Height of celebration

Mumbaikars hit the streets chanting 'Govinda ala re...'

Chants of “Govinda ala re” reverberated the air as religious fervour gripped the city on Janmashtami on Friday with thousands of devotees taking out colourful processions to mark the birth of Lord Krishna. Thousands of Mumbaikars poured into the streets for ‘dahi handi’ festivities with youngsters moving around the city in processions and breaking pots filled with butter or curd, which are hung at a considerable height, to win prize money. When a five-year-old govinda made a hurried attempt to stand and sit quickly over the shoulders of his peers, there were cries akin to the half run in cricket. Rival mandals and avid pyramid watchers shouted that the sixth layer with knees of the kids straightening up on the fifth layer. A far cry from the tall aim of eight, nine and even 10 layers, the group would have not qualified for the highest monetary reward. But the interest shown by people dropping by was definitely at par with the high pyramids.  2) Kids dressed up as Lord Krishna and Radha at Dadar  Devotees pray before forming a human pyramid at Dadar Shiv Sai Govinda Mandal forms a ninelevel human pyramid at Sanskriti Yuva Pratishthan in Thane on Friday.     1) Thousands of people gather as govindas form a human pyramid at Devipada in Borivli on the occasion of Janmashtami on Friday. 3) A traditional tamasha dancer entertains the crowd in Ghatk opar Environmental activist Lyka Abdulali checks the noise level during dahi handi celebrations An injured govinda being taken to KEM Hospital in Parel —Hemant Padalkar DNA Adding to the encouragement, the organisers took a sympathetic view to give the young kid’s wobbling attempt and awarded the team with the prize money of six layers of Rs6,000 at the Shri Sankalp Pratisthan in Gandhi Maidan/Jamboree Maidan. Pyramid making on Friday had as much craze and audience as the cricket obsessed nation had with World Cup win. Streets overflowed with people, cars converted roads from two to one lane. In Vile Parle, one could see people make pyramids in almost every by lane. These were, however, not very high. The ones with more than eight were made in open spaces, and prominent junctions that had big prize money. Dahi handis were also seen of decorative kinds. At one place in Parel area, Krishna was sitting on an eagle that carried the handi. Amateur photographers made the best of these taking pictures at regular intervals and saving themselves from flying water balloons. “At our place three mandals tried making nine-layer pyramids but failed. Four, however, did make right layers till now (4pm),” said Sachin Ahir of Shri Sankalp Pratishthan. Before sunset, Jogeshwari’s Jai Jawan Govinda Pathak had won Rs15 lakh for making nine layers. The feat was achieved at Thane where Jeetendra Awhad’s Sangharsh Handi that also boasts of highest prize of pyramid of 10 layers. But high pyramids are something that did not attract all. “I come here as I feel part of this celebration. Though I used to like the way dahi handi was played earlier – each time a pyramid was performed; it was to break the handi – now it is more about competition. But you still feel being part of the festival,” said Kamlesh Parmar, a resident of Worli. This year’s festivities were also marked by rising cash prizes and presence of Bollywood personalities, lending a glamour quotient to the annual event. “I saw Esha Deol and I am waiting to see Hrithik and Emraan now,” said 13-year-old Rakesh Jain. With Akshay Kumar in Thane, and Rakhi Sawant in Ghatkopar, stars were pooled in to pull crowds. The festive spirit also had an equal share of food for the hungry. Hawkers providing variety of food like wada pav, fruits, firni, paani poori sprung up near the spots of dahi handi. “I normally put up my stall at Parel but today I have come to Worli,” said Chetan Gupta, who sold pani poori. He added, “This side the business is 20% more.” Some others enjoyed the festival by merely cooking on the street near the hot spots of all action. Pranali Keluskar, who had put up a wada pav stall in Worli said she sold over 40 kgs of wada. “I like it this way. Since we do not go for pyramids watching, we feel this is the way we are part of it and enjoy it too. Our entire family is glued to this from morning to night,” she said.