Dahi Handi attains fever pitch in poll yr as Sena factions try to climb over each other

Thane/Mumbai: Tall, disciplined human pyramids rose in the air as champion govinda teams competed for the high stakes at Friday’s festival of Dahi Handi. The most thrilling public festival of Maharashtra had been cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020-21.
Political organisers led by CM Eknath Shinde raised the bar in this civic poll year. Rival Shiv Sena factions competed with the BJP and MNS to gain the support of their Maharashtrian voter base. Congress and NCP organisers were conspicuous by their absence.
Thane was the epicentre of it as political organisers lured govindas from Jogeshwari, Borivli, Mazgaon and Worli with prizes in the lakhs and celebrity appearances. In Mumbai, political venues in Dadar, Ghatkopar, Worli and Magathane attracted large crowds.
A usually deadpan Shinde drew upon his hidden reserves of humour to taunt the rival Sena faction on his home turf of Tembhi Naka. Addressing the crowd, he said, “As you are breaking the handi now, we also broke a very difficult handi one and a half months ago. It was very difficult and at a height. We had to build a 50-layer pyramid to break it, but we did by the blessings of Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe.”
Former minister Aaditya Thackeray later issued a rejoinder asking if it was “50 layers or 50 ‘khokas’ (crores)”.
Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis was at several Dahi Handi events in Mumbai and Thane with an eye on the BMC election, which is expected in October. At Jambori Maidan, Worli, he broke a handi “promising to end corruption in the BMC”. “Under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi we are breaking the handis of corruption and this handi (corruption in BMC) too will break,” he said.
Champion govinda mandals like Jai Jawan and Konkan Nagar , both from Jogeshwari, built nine-layer pyramids in Thane. Attempts for a record 10 tiers failed, though. Women govinda teams impressed with their skill. A little girl rose to the topmost layer for Jai Jawan.
In Navi Mumbai the celebration remained a low-key affair compared to the pre-Covid era. The highest prize money of Rs 11 lakh was on offer at the Sunil Chougule Sports Association. At Sanpada, BJP leader Pandurang Amle celebrated ‘Golden Dahi Handi’ with a pot offering a bounty of several lakhs.
Celebrity performances kept the adrenaline flowing. Govindas in Thane gawked at Arjun Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Suniel Shetty, Shakti Kapoor and daughter Shraddha, as well as Sonali Kulkarni. Shefali Jariwala performed her popular remix ‘Kaanta laga’ at Prakash Surve’s event in Magathane, Borivli. BJP’s Kirit Somaiya shakily climbed a three-tier pyramid and beat a dhol tasha in Ghatkopar. Ashish Shelar and Ram Kadam also beat drums with gusto.
(Inputs by Clara Lewis, BB Nayak & Bella Jaisinghani)