The Mumbai High Court in its recent judgement has directed the state government to issue a fresh circular banning govindas under the age of 18 from participating in the Dahi Handi festival. Also it has restricted the height of the human pyramids to 20feet(4 Thar).
Dahi Handi is a festival celebrated to commemorate the mischievous act of Lord Krishna in the village Vrindavan. It is very popular festival in Mumbai and Maharashtra where it is part of the main festival Gokulasthami or Lord Krishna's Janmashtami. According to the legend, Lord Krishna and His friends use to form human pyramids to break pots hung from the ceilings of neighborhood houses, in order to steal curd and butter.
Though in the recent years, this festival has become a platform of show of strength for the aspiring politicians in their respective constituencies, to garner popularity among the masses. The prize money is sky rocketing with each passing year with some hitting the Rs. 1crore mark. As the number of zeroes in the prize money increased, it motivated the Govinda Pathaks to make higher pyramid. As height increased, probability of casualties also increased.
However, it still doesn't justifies the recent ruling of the Honourable Court. When your get hurt on a particular part of our body, one does not cut that body part but takes appropriate medications to fill up the wound. Banning Govindas under the age of 18 and restricting the height to 20 feet seems, to me, as major step towards putting an end to the tradition in the distant future. The ruling seems to be very harsh on the mandals who have been celebrating the festival for decades and generations together. Today it's Dahi Handi. Tomorrow there will be restrictions on Ganesh Chaturthi, then Deepavali, Holi. And the list will go on.
There is a threat to life even when one goes to trekking on the peaks which are above 1000s feet above sea level. Recently a 13 year old girl from Telangana achieved a feat of climbing the Mount Everest. So age doesn't seem to be a barrier when it comes to height. Now some people will argue that she went with proper gear and all precautionary material. So why not implement the same in this case? Why not force the mandals to take all the precautions before making the pyramids.
There might have been many ways rather than the current ruling. The ruling also directs the police to amend the Bombay Police Act to include higher human pyramids as 'dangerous activity'. So, now law will take it's course on how the festivals should be celebrated. Instead, why not ban the organizers which are mostly led by leading politicians to stop making it a battle ground to earn election tickets. Why not put a restriction on the prize money announced by these organizer beyond certain limit.
A law should be passed which must compel all the Dahi Handi organizers to disclose their source of funds & make it compulsory for them to register under the Bombay Public Trusts Act or the Societies Registration Act thus bringing them under public scrutiny. This will bring in more transparency and put a curb on the hefty prize money which are included in the banners to attract the media glare. As the prize money comes down, it will immediately discourage Govindas from going higher in the pyramids.
The Dahi Handi mandals should be banned with immediate effect if any of the Govinda from their mandal suffers any casaulty or death during the festival. They should be made to take full responsibility of all govindas in their Pathaks. Law should take it's course in this case and prosecute the mandal organisers with serious imprisonment. In case of casualties it should be compulsory that the mandal should pay all the expenses with regards to treatment in case of casualties and the heavy compensation as decided by court in case of death or permanent disabilities.
Proper precautionary gear should be worn by all Govindas during the festival. The mandal should carry along with them an ambulance in case of any casualty which will assure immediate medical attention.
The age limit should be reduced upto 14 or maximum 15. Above 18 means it also creates practical problems for the Dahi Handi Mandal. A fully grown up man wont be able to climb the last level as the people on the initial levels wont be able to balance properly. This will discourage many govinda mandal's participation in the festival.
We have to find ways in the present situation rather than eliminating it, completely out of the equation. Law's should be made stricter and the government should also ensure it's proper implementation. But the nature of law must not be such which might bring down curtains on the centuries old tradition.
SR.
Dahi Handi is a festival celebrated to commemorate the mischievous act of Lord Krishna in the village Vrindavan. It is very popular festival in Mumbai and Maharashtra where it is part of the main festival Gokulasthami or Lord Krishna's Janmashtami. According to the legend, Lord Krishna and His friends use to form human pyramids to break pots hung from the ceilings of neighborhood houses, in order to steal curd and butter.
Though in the recent years, this festival has become a platform of show of strength for the aspiring politicians in their respective constituencies, to garner popularity among the masses. The prize money is sky rocketing with each passing year with some hitting the Rs. 1crore mark. As the number of zeroes in the prize money increased, it motivated the Govinda Pathaks to make higher pyramid. As height increased, probability of casualties also increased.
However, it still doesn't justifies the recent ruling of the Honourable Court. When your get hurt on a particular part of our body, one does not cut that body part but takes appropriate medications to fill up the wound. Banning Govindas under the age of 18 and restricting the height to 20 feet seems, to me, as major step towards putting an end to the tradition in the distant future. The ruling seems to be very harsh on the mandals who have been celebrating the festival for decades and generations together. Today it's Dahi Handi. Tomorrow there will be restrictions on Ganesh Chaturthi, then Deepavali, Holi. And the list will go on.
There is a threat to life even when one goes to trekking on the peaks which are above 1000s feet above sea level. Recently a 13 year old girl from Telangana achieved a feat of climbing the Mount Everest. So age doesn't seem to be a barrier when it comes to height. Now some people will argue that she went with proper gear and all precautionary material. So why not implement the same in this case? Why not force the mandals to take all the precautions before making the pyramids.
There might have been many ways rather than the current ruling. The ruling also directs the police to amend the Bombay Police Act to include higher human pyramids as 'dangerous activity'. So, now law will take it's course on how the festivals should be celebrated. Instead, why not ban the organizers which are mostly led by leading politicians to stop making it a battle ground to earn election tickets. Why not put a restriction on the prize money announced by these organizer beyond certain limit.
A law should be passed which must compel all the Dahi Handi organizers to disclose their source of funds & make it compulsory for them to register under the Bombay Public Trusts Act or the Societies Registration Act thus bringing them under public scrutiny. This will bring in more transparency and put a curb on the hefty prize money which are included in the banners to attract the media glare. As the prize money comes down, it will immediately discourage Govindas from going higher in the pyramids.
The Dahi Handi mandals should be banned with immediate effect if any of the Govinda from their mandal suffers any casaulty or death during the festival. They should be made to take full responsibility of all govindas in their Pathaks. Law should take it's course in this case and prosecute the mandal organisers with serious imprisonment. In case of casualties it should be compulsory that the mandal should pay all the expenses with regards to treatment in case of casualties and the heavy compensation as decided by court in case of death or permanent disabilities.
Proper precautionary gear should be worn by all Govindas during the festival. The mandal should carry along with them an ambulance in case of any casualty which will assure immediate medical attention.
The age limit should be reduced upto 14 or maximum 15. Above 18 means it also creates practical problems for the Dahi Handi Mandal. A fully grown up man wont be able to climb the last level as the people on the initial levels wont be able to balance properly. This will discourage many govinda mandal's participation in the festival.
We have to find ways in the present situation rather than eliminating it, completely out of the equation. Law's should be made stricter and the government should also ensure it's proper implementation. But the nature of law must not be such which might bring down curtains on the centuries old tradition.
SR.
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