Thursday, September 12, 2013

Dahi Handi

‘Dahi Handi’ a festival organized on Krishna Janmashtami every year, to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna all over India. ‘Dahi’ means curd and ‘Handi’ means earthen pot which is filled with curd and is hung at a height to the rope. Fruits are tied to the rope as well which are distributed among the people gathered. This is very popular in Maharastra where different groups participate in the event. There is a prize for the group that breaks the handi. In Maharashtra the handi is tied at almost 30-35 feet high which doesn’t happen in Goa. In Goa it is tied at 14-18 feet only.
How did this start?
Lord Krishna during his childhood stole ‘Makhan’ (butter) which people use to tie at height in an earthen pot in their own house, as he was fond of milk, curd, butter along with his friends by forming human pyramids. He stole curd, butter not only from his own home but also from the surrounding houses in the village.
This is why they form the human pyramid and the person climbing right on top is called Govinda which is the other name of Lord Krishna.
Image clicked by Navin Gaonkar at Candolim, Goa, India.