Happy Janmashtami!

There are a lot of different religions in India. Among all, Hinduism has the most followers. Right after Raksha Bandhan festival (I explained it in a previous post) last week, today, it is Janmashtami which is a Hindu festival to celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna! Another no working day during the weekday this month! The main roads are full of crowds. People gather together singing and dancing.  

In Mumbai, the festival is known as Dahi Handi - breaking the pot. Handi is a clay pot filled with buttermilk. In order to break the handi, group of youngsters need build up a human pyramid about 2 to 3-floor height, so the top person can reach the handi and use the coconut to break it.When the buttermilk spill over the entire group, it symbolizes their achievement through unity. Over 4000 handis are placed all over Mumbai. Many groups travel around in trucks, competing with each other, trying to break as many as possible during the whole day. People enjoy competitions and like to follow the truck cheering for their group (see the picture at right I took from my window).  

I planed to go to one venue, but my Indian friend told me it is better stay home watching the live. He said I would not find a good spot to watch and might lose myself among crowds. However, the most important point is:  Because of the spirit of London Olympic Games this year, one event organizer has offered the prize of 25 Lakhs of rupees (about 55000 dollars) to the group which can build up a human pyramid of 10 layers to hit the handi. How can I miss this show?

Have Invited some friends come over, ordered some pizza, we are ready to see who will be the lucky winner! Climbing, keep climbing!

The word for today:

die tuo han

叠罗汉

 human pyramid