Dahi handi unites Mumbaikars

A week prior to Janmashtami, which is celebrated enormously by the local folks of Mumbai and Pune, the city got a small taste of dahi handi at the third edition Red Bull Jod Ke Tod, which took place on Sunday. The one of its own event witnessed participation from 40 teams from men and women’s categories.

The Sarvajanik Ganeshoutsav Mandal and Parle Sports Club emerged victorious after rounds of laborious climbing as men and women’s champions respectively.  With winning timings of 16.84 seconds (men’s category) and 19.83 seconds (women’s category), both teams grabbed the small earthen jar after a nail-biting final event. Pyaari Nagar and Parle Sports Academy emerged runner-ups in the male and female categories respectively. The event, which mostly sees participation by men, saw an equal participation from the fairer sex.

Usually organised a week prior to Janmashtami, Jod Ke Tod aims at giving the popularly celebrated community festival a sporting  makeover.  The 2017 edition saw 40 teams from the city’s best dahi handi mandals going head to head at making the fastest, tallest and strongest human pyramids in numerous rounds to become the champion.

“We are delighted after winning the event. It is becoming a great platform, which is highlighting the sport through such a competition. It is only at this event that we use safety measures like helmets and making the pyramid on a thick mat,” said Sonali Katkar from Parle Sports Club, overwhelmed after her team’s win.

The event held at Met ground in Bandra also hosted climbing sensation and Red Bull athlete Tuhin Satarkar, who is the first Indian to scale Ganesh (8b+) in Badami, Karnataka. He interacted with the athletes at the event. He said, “Being a Maharashtrian, Gokulashtami has a very special place in my heart. As a kid, even I have tried my hand climbing to the top of the human pyramid, While dahi handi has always been rooted in tradition, this competition is instrumental in recognising and elevating the agility, athleticism and courage of these incredible women and men participating.”   

Adding flair to the entertainment and also an authentic traditional touch to the atmosphere was the battle of the traditional Dhol Tasha bands. The local percussionist team Mi Urankar beat the two other teams Shiv Dhan & Maharaj in a league format. The parameters they were judged on were theme, rhythm synchronization, and leadership. This was organised in order to be filler for the crowd to keep the energy levels high and also reward the winner for doing the same.

In addition, present at the event was Adv. MLA Ashish Shelar who presented the Red Bull Jod Ke Tod championship trophy to the winning teams.