Dahi Handi celebrations: ‘Organisers don’t matter, cash prizes do’

Breaking of the dahi handi at Jambori Maidan in Worli. Pic/Atul Kamble; (right) Participants vied for Rs 51,000 for a five-layer formation

On Tuesday, the Dahi Handi celebrations at Worli's Jambori Maidan were touted as the city's largest, blending cultural festivity with political signalling ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. The ground was surrounded by massive hoardings from all major political parties but those of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) outnumbered most.

BJP's deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis made a brief appearance, smashing the ceremonial handi on stage to an enthusiastic crowd. Shortly after, a dramatic re-enactment of the killing of Afzal Khan captivated the attendees, post which Fadnavis headed for the celebration in Dadar (Bhoiwada) without speaking much at the event.

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This event, until a few years ago, was a stronghold of the Shiv Sena, with its leader Sachin Ahir traditionally overseeing the arrangements. However, for the past couple of years, the BJP has taken over this annual event. This year's Dahi Handi was organised by local leader Santosh Pande, who sought to downplay the political significance of the gathering.

"It is our Hindu festival and not a political festival," Pande asserted. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was notably absent as of press time, although Pande mentioned he was expected to attend later in the evening.

Pande highlighted the scale of this year's celebrations, noting that 1,102 groups had registered to participate. By early evening, over 400 groups had already taken part, many forming six-tiered pyramids in a nod to safety, while others attempted eight layers.

Meanwhile, on the same road as Jambori Maidan, multiple celebrations were organised by Shiv Sena (UBT), their flags prominently displayed on the road dividers. The attendees were seen wearing the T-shirts of the Shinde faction which bore the advertisement of its flagship scheme ‘ladka bha'.

For many attendees, the focus was less on the political affiliations of the organisers and more on the cash prizes. Participants vied for R51,000 for a five-layer formation, with over R3 lakh awarded for breaking the highest handi. "We are not bothered by who is arranging it as much, but the cash prizes have increased ever since BJP took over the celebrations here. The party has money to distribute; that is all we are bothered about," said Pranesh, a participant with the Gokulvan Mitra Mandal from Goregaon.