Lindsay Pereira: In India, we get high on danger

Jai Jawan Mitra Mandal's 9-tier pyramid at Bhagwati Maidan, Thane, was at least double the 20-foot limit set by the High Court and Supreme Court. File pic

I think it's ridiculous that the Supreme Court wants to limit the height of dahi handis to just 20 feet. That isn't even dangerous. How can we celebrate any of our festivals without the threat of death or paralysis hanging over us? It's also bizarre that people below the age of 18 are being banned from participating in this extremely healthy sport-like activity that involves climbing upon people's shoulders to break a pot. If people below 18 aren't allowed to risk their lives and limbs, so other people can capture this on their smart phones, does India even qualify as a democracy anymore?

The court's reasons make no sense. They say this is not a sport, but how does that matter if it's just something we do because we are Indian? Whistling at women is not a sport either, but so many of our countrymen do it right through the year, don't they? So many men molest women on trains and crowded streets too. These aren't sports, but being sexually repressed has always been part of our culture, hasn't it? Why can't the honourable courts understand this?

Jai Jawan Mitra Mandal's 9-tier pyramid at Bhagwati Maidan, Thane, was at least double the 20-foot limit set by the High Court and Supreme Court. File pic

A female friend of mine was leered at by young men on trucks during this year's dahi handi festival. Then they threw water on her because she ignored them. She wasn't the only one. A significant number of young women who dared to step out that day were greeted with everything from catcalls to obscene gestures. But all this is, apparently, part of our culture. What's a festival if it doesn't involve demeaning women or making things difficult for children, animals and senior citizens? What's a religious programme if it doesn't involve playing a remix of Shah Rukh Khan's song 'Main Hoon Don' at 125 decibels at 11 pm? This should be allowed because it is our culture. I don't know why the judicial system don't get it.

It's true that in 2013 a 24-year-old who fell off a human pyramid died four days after he was admitted to hospital with quadriplegia. That's paralysis of all four limbs, in case you are wondering. It's also true that 17 people were injured in 2014, one rather seriously, during the festival. A 14-year-old boy also fell during a practice session and succumbed to his injuries. In 2015, 22 members from various mandals suffered head injuries, fractures and minor bruises and, earlier this week, 126 were reportedly injured and 34 hospitalised. A 12-year old boy also reportedly collapsed from the top of a six-level pyramid. But how do these little things matter? Isn't dying stupidly or for some fault of our own, our birthright too?

Courts should not be allowed to get in the way of serious injuries, paralysis or deaths, because these are all matters of significance, especially for politicians who need to organise these celebrations to showcase that they genuinely care about their constituencies. The politicians themselves never attempt to participate, of course, because that would put their lives at risk and prevent them from more important pursuits like fattening their savings accounts.

It wasn't always like this. Once upon a time, we enjoyed dahi handi celebrations. There weren't more than a couple in every locality, to begin with, which meant everyone would throng to those spots and cheer. There were no loudspeakers, obscene prizes or illegal posters. There were no biker thugs driving over pavements with two more riding pillion. The crowd comprised men, women, senior citizens and a whole lot of children who would all have a ball. It really did feel like a festival back then. Compare that with the way things are today, with traffic held up for hours on account of pots strung haphazardly at junctions. Look at the sheer number of pots strung up every few hundred metres along the highway, each sponsored by a local politician or thug. Look at how T-shirts and posters allocate more room to a politician's name than any message actually relevant to the festival itself. Is this part of our culture too?

A petition that made it to the court a week ago termed the dahi handi festival an "adventure" and a "popular and competitive" sport. The judge, quite correctly, asked if it had brought India any medal in the Olympics. If there really were an Olympics for sports that involved littering, leering at women, spitting in public, thrusting your pelvis on the streets and generally making a nuisance of oneself, we would probably win quite a few gold medals. I'm kidding. I'm pretty sure bureaucracy, corruption and apathy would ensure that we lose there too.

When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com