Back in 1995, when ‘Dahi Handi’ was not commercialised in Mumbai, social worker Bhau Korgaonkar and his wife, Shalaka, decided to introduce women to what had always been a male sport. The idea was unique at the time, and no one thought it would survive more than one season. In fact, the plan to promote gender equality was mocked but the Korgaonkars kept the faith.
‘Girls can do what boys can’ was the belief of the ‘Gorakhnath Dahi Handi Pathak (Mandal/Group)’, and the first all-woman Govinda team in Mumbai was born. Ms. Shalaka Korgaonkar, a Mumbaikar, loves saying that the women take part in the city’s beloved tradition of breaking the ‘Dahi Handi’ in the old way – with no monetary gains and no competition.
When it started, it was a group of only 25 girls — the youngest being 15, and most of them being kabbadi players. Their sporting background held them in good stead as they practised for the big day. The group starts practising a month before Janmashtami. Safety is accorded top priority, a policy that has resulted in zero injury all these years.
The group has now expanded to nearly 200 women: among them are college students, doctors, lawyers, business executives, architects and even a tattoo artist. After 2005, the group began getting invitations to perform outside Maharashtra. It has travelled to Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab to spread the Maharashtrian tradition of ‘Dahi Handi’. Divya, a beautician who has been with the group for three years, says their ambition is to take the performance abroad.
Taking inspiration from the Gorakhnath Dahi Handi Pathak, 50 other women’s teams have been formed in Mumbai. This year, the group formed a pyramid on invitation from Deolali, a hill town near Nashik in Maharashtra.
(Text and images by Vivek Bendre)