The glitz and glamour usually associated with dahi handi will likely be missing from this year’s celebrations, with several big organisers not participating and others focusing on corporate-sponsored events, including a ‘Pro Govinda League’ on the lines of the Pro Kabbadi League. Also, the level of participation by politicians appears to depend on their current status: Opposition leaders are going in for low-key affairs, while ruling party ones are looking at impressing their voters.
Adding to this is the overall lack of funds, sponsors, and the Bombay High Court’s order which put the onus on organisers to ensure the safety of Govindas. Unlike previous years, cash prizes have reduced, and many organizers have refrained from declaring the amount.
The Shiv Sena’s Pratap Sarnaik, who organises the Sanskruti Dahi Handi celebrations in Thane, will go in for a sports-based theme this year. He is also organising the Pro Govinda League, in which two dahi handi mandals will simultaneously attempt a higher human pyramid. Similarly, Sena leader and State Minister for Public Works Eknath Shinde will be theming his dahi handi event in Thane’s Tembhi Naka on the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be held in October in Navi Mumbai.
The BJP’s Ram Kadam said he will celebrating the festival in a big way, but refused to divulge prize money details. “My dahi handi will be the grandest and biggest in the city. It is not only about prize money, but about celebrating with vigour and following the tradition.”
Known for celebrating on a grand scale, the Sangharsh Dahi Handi event in Thane by the NCP’s Jitendra Awhad has brought fame and money for participants over the years. There will be no celebration this year, Mr. Awhad said, owing to his father’s death a month ago. Last year, too, he had cancelled festivities to express solidarity with people affected by drought.
The Congress’s Mumbai chief Sanjay Nirupam too said he would not be organising the festival in his constituency as he will be busy visiting those by his party leaders in the city’s western suburbs. “Yes, I used to organise the festival celebration, but this year I will be visiting others’ handis,” he said.
NCP leader Sachin Ahir’s Sankalp Dahi Handi in Worli will lack the pomp and glamour it is known for. Among other attractions, he is known to bring Bollywood celebrities to his event at the Jambori Maidan.
