Govinda ala re...celebs share their dahi handi memories

Today on the occasion of Gokul Asthami, the entire nation is celebrating Dahi Handi (breaking of the earthen pot full of curd). Gokul Ashtami is popularly known in Mumbai and Pune as Dahi Handi. Devotees of Lord Krishna celebrate this festival with lot of fanfare, joy and zeal. On this day, ecstatic devotees of the Lord make human pyramids to break the handi (earthen pot). On this auspicious day, Tellychakkar.com decides to talk to some of the TV stars and asks them the importance about this day. Firstly we got in touch with Debina Bonnerjee Choudhary who happened to break the handi this year. Yes, you read it right. This year on the occasion of the shoot of a special episode of Janmashtami in Chidiya Ghar on SAB TV, Debina, aka Mayuri, actually climbed on top of a human pyramid to break the dahi handi herself. Speaking of the shoot, a thrilled Debina said, “It was a really great experience breaking the dahi handi. In fact, I was a little worried about how I would climb up and break the handi. But after everyone on the sets cheered and supported me, I felt really encouraged. The boys who were brought to form the human pyramid were also of great help as they got me down safely after I broke the handi. It was an awesome experience indeed.” Recalling his childhood memories, Rithvik Dhanjani aka Arjun from Pavitra Rishta shared, “Way back in our childhood days when we used stay in Madhya Pradesh, we used to have this dahi handi celebration in our colony. People used to gather and enjoy this festival with lots of zeal and spirit. On that day, we used to call orchestra people to play while the residents broke the handi at 12 midnight. Last year, I did get an opportunity to break dahi handi as there was a Janmashtami celebration episode in our show. That was the first time that I participated in dahi handi festival; it was a five floor pyramid. Naturally, I was very scared but the bunch of people who came were very good and provided me a lot of confidence. And would you believe that in just two trials I managed to break the handi. So, in short, my childhood and last year’s dahi handi day have been the best till date.” Talking about the festival importance of the festival, Munisha Khatwani added, “We celebrate this festival in a big way. I simply love the ambience in our house. On the Janmashtami day, my mom bathes the Lord’s idol and then beautifies it by putting on new clothes and precious jewellery. Later, she offers sweets, makhan and fruits and ataa kutti, a Sindhi specialty to the Lord. Later the idol is placed in a cradle and worshipped.” Shaleen Malhotra loves the Mumbai dahi handi celebration. “The dahi handi celebration is really mindboggling. I simply love the energy, coordination, enthusiasm, anxiety amongst people who take part. They give their hand to support and it’s all about team work. Such kinds of festivals make people come closer to each other and forget their worries. Back in time when I was in Delhi, I used to make pyramids and place them beside a hand-made pond with mud and later place the idol of the Lord on a small swing. All this to basically give the feel of Gokul (the birthplace of Lord Krishna),” he observed. Yes, there is an element of alacrity attached with all this festivals. However, there are also some who believe that the essence of dahi handi has lost due to over commercialisation of the event. Viraf Firoz Patel to be seen in Life OK's Ek Boond Ishq echoed, “When the great leader Lokmanya Tilak introduced the Ganeshotsav festival, his purpose was to bring people together and spread humanity. The same applies to Janmashtami that symbolizes team work and giving hand to other people. But somewhere the essence of the festival has been lost. In a sense, we have forgotten the core value of this festival. Here I would mention about Akshay Kumar’s Oh My God that has given a beautiful message to nation. So I hope sooner or later people will realize the importance of festivals today.” We wish everyone a blessed life ahead!!!