M A I N   N E W S

Mumbai resonates with ‘Govinda ala re’ slogans

Mumbai, August 27
Amidst enchanting slogans of ‘Govinda ala re’, teams of youths today enthusiastically participated in traditional ‘dahi handi’ (earthen pot containing curd) programmes in the city and adjoining areas on the occasion of ‘Gokul Asthami’.

The youths, wearing shorts and colourful vests, were seen breaking ‘dahi handi’ by making human pyramids, while rival groups tried to prevent them from doing so amidst beating of drums.

Cash prizes, running in thousands of rupees, were at stake for the winning teams.

There are more than 7,000 prominent Govinda groups, playing Lord Krishna and his friends, in the metropolis alone. The youngsters practice for several days to master the art of breaking dahi handis, some of which are tied at a distance of as high as 20 feet.

Since the last several years, apart from boys, young girls are also coming forward to break the ‘dahi handi’ by making human pyramids.

In the neighbouring Thane city, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLC Jeetendra Avad has announced a whopping Rs 11 lakh award for the winning team.

Breaking ‘dahi handi’ is a very popular theme for Hindi films and veterans like Shammi Kapur broke the handi in ‘Bluff Master’. Later, this trend was followed in several other films and even Big B Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Govinda danced to the tunes of ‘Govinda ala re’ in various movies with their heroines around to cheer them up. — UNI