Janmashtami is here, and what is synonymous with Janmashtami? The famous event of ‘Dahi Handi’. An event which started way back with Lord Krishna and his love for curd, butter and milk. Hence the name ‘dahi’.
This event has been majorly associated with men forming a human pyramid and breaking the Handi on top. This has been practised in India for years, in different parts of the country it has different names.
Do you know the role of women in this event?
They are suppose to stand around this pyramid singing songs and dancing to celebrate Janmashtami.
However, this has not been the case in recent years. Women initially got involved with men to be a part of the Dahi Handi but today they can proudly claim that they have their own teams breaking Handi’s.
It was almost 10 years ago when women first broke a Handi all by themselves but for the following 4 to 5 years they did not get that recognition they deserved for their participation.
It is in recent times that an area has 2 teams, one for the men and the other for women which is a major breakthrough in society.
Earlier the boys would not help us or approve of our teams, we would still do it. In recent times they have changed and the boys team now helps us in practice. In fact now the jerseys for the event are ordered together and it makes us feel like one team.Female Dahi Handi player from Mumbai
Now an area is not associated with one boys team anymore. Almost 3000 women participate in ‘Dahi Handi’ only in Maharashtra. The event is very famous in Mumbai and Pune.
Concept: Divya Talwar
Producer: Bilal Jaleel
Camera: Sanjoy Deb
Editor: Veeru Mohan Krishan
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