Mumbai, Aug 26 (TOI): Not only dahi handis, the law too was broken on Thursday. Many mandals flouted the Supreme Court's curbs on height of human pyramids and participation of minors. Though celebrations in Mumbai were relatively low-key, Thane, a hotbed of politically backed handis, presented a sharp contrast, with multiple violations of the 20-foot limit on height and children being included in pyramids despite the apex court barring those below 18 from taking part.
Two children--12-yearold Sujal Ghadapkar from Ulhasnagar and 9-year-old Dhiraj Male from Kandivli--are battling for life after suffering serious head injuries. Both fell from the sixth tier of the pyramid.
While long-time organizers from the NCP and Shiv Sena lay low, it was the MNS, an unknown name on the dahi handi scene, that made a desperate attempt to gain political ground ahead of the BMC elections. In fact, Mumbai's Jai Jawan Mandal from Jogeshwari travelled to Thane to break the law. There its boys formed a nine-layer pyramid that went all the way up to 42 feet, a little shy of the 43.79-ft feat which had once earned it a mention in the Guinness Book of Records.
The mandal was infuriated at its prospects being thwarted by the new rules. It first offered to despatch its Guinness certificate to President Pranab Mukherjee. Then on Wednesday , it approached SC with a fresh plea against the guidelines. Once that was rejected, Jai Jawan went ahead and broke the rules. Though dahi handi was relatively low-key in Mumbai, in Thane, the law was openly flouted as the Jai Jawan mandal formed a 42-ft high pyramid.Late Thursday evening, Naupada police , who had videographed the event, registered a case against MNS organizers Avinash Jadhav and Abhijeet Jadhav and booked them under Sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code after analysing videos of the event.
Raj Thackeray's MNS had offered Rs 11 lakh in prize money to any team that formed nine layers at its Bhagwati Maidan event. Jai Jawan claimed the prize.
Avinash Jadhav, Thane MNS chief, was berated by police for wearing a T-shirt that read, "Yes I will break the law."
MNS has scarcely had a presence in this festival since its lone organiser Ram Kadam from Ghatkopar defected to the BJP .In fact, NCP's bigwig organiser from Worli Sachin Ahir remarked, `"This is because some people want to become Ram Kadam overnight. But what use is bravado if you have to eat your words in court the following day or face police action?" Clearly, the civic elections played on every party's mind.In Bhandup, BJP MP Kirit Somaiya himself attempted to climb a small pyramid whose theme, interestingly , focused on the scams that beset his own alliance-led BMC.
Pyramid formations in Mumbai were far more restrained. A touching sight unfolded outside Mahim dargah where a group of govindas offered salute to the Muslim saint Makhdoom Shah Baba Mahimi. The boys of the Konkan Bhavan mandal devised a novel protest in Dadar. They formed an eight-layer 'pyramid' by laying horizontally on the ground. "This is our way of protesting the SC diktat. We are accustomed to forming tall pyramids without injury and see no reason why it shouldn't continue," a mandal member said.
Defiant women govindas wore black armbands as they formed five layers. Another team of men in Dadar capped the formation at four layers but raised a black flag at the moment of salute. The silver lining was fewer injuries compared to previous years, fewer traffic jams and more cultural programmes. Celebrations ended midafternoon at most venues instead of 10pm as in previous years.
Organizers like Prakash Surve in Magathane and Sachin Ahir in Worli celebrated within the limits of the law.Skits and lavani performances kept spectators entertained.