Incessant rains in Thane failed to dampen the spirits of Govindas who ensured that they quickly set up the human pyramids at the Sanskruti Yuva Pratishthan in Thane, for, in a new twist to the festival, the Govindas at the mandal were judged on the basis of how fast they formed the pyramid. Borrowing from the Pro-Kabaddi league, the organisers named this event the ‘Pro-Govinda league.’ In this match, two teams were required to battle it out on the Vartak Nagar ground and the team to first create a human pyramid won a larger sum. The cash prizes varied from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5,000 depending on the time and the number of tiers. “Taking into account the safety of Govindas, we refrained from setting up Dahi Handis. Only one Handi was set up on the stage, in order to pay obeisance to this age old tradition,” said Purvesh Sarnaik, the Secretary of the Sanskruti Yuva Pratishthan. The Jai Jawan team from Jogeshwari, which earned a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records on August 10, 2012 will be sending in a new entry, for forming a nine-tier human pyramid in 1 minute 3 seconds.
