The dahi handi that just wouldn't break
Twenty three strikes and still nothing. The young devotee put in every ounce of his energy but couldn't break the hard as nails dahi handi, shows a video from Maharashtra as nation celebrates Janmashtami.
Dahi Handi competitions, which is part of Krishna Janmashtami festival, are celebrated on a grand scale across the state.
A dhol plays in the background as the man climbs the human pyramid, and takes over from a man who seems unable to break the handi.
He then launches himself into the exercise and goes about hammering the handi with full gusto. The claps get louder as the man, dressed in a shirt and jeans, raises the intensity of his efforts. But makes no headway. After 23 blows, he shakes his head, stops and gestures that this won't break.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that 'Dahi-Handi' will now be recognised as an official sport in the state.
Dahi-Handi is a ritual in which devotees of Lord Krishna recreate the famous act of 'Maakhan Chori' or butter stealing which is one of the many mischievous acts from the Lord's childhood stories.
Janmashtami is celebrated by Hindus to mark the birth of Lord Krishna, the God who is the embodiment of playfulness and innocence.