Dahi handis with a cause

Some city mandals decide to keep out loudspeakers, avoid costly celebrations and use funds for charity instead

Some city mandals decide to keep out loudspeakers, avoid costly celebrations and use funds for charity instead

Even as mandals and political parties in the city offer jaw-dropping cash prizes and organise elaborate dahi handis, some others have decided to keep celebrations austere. They will break handis with the underprivileged and many of them will also keep out loudspeakers and use the money for charity instead.u00a0

Made to break: A potter works on the handis for the Janmashtami
festival. Pic/Navanath Kaple

Hailing milk donors
The Shahir Hinge Lokakala Prabhodini will felicitate mothers who have volunteered in the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital's milk donation programmes. "The programme will commence around 11 am and we will also felicitate the staff at the hospital. They do an equally important job," said Shahira Roopali, co-coordinator of the mandal.
The event will be held at Manik Chowk in Kasba Peth. The mandal's dahi handi will also have a special team of visually impaired girls from the Anath Hindu Mahilashram. Organisers say this is a unique way to include handicapped people assimilate in the normal realm of society.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Grains for tribals
The Tulshi Baug Ganesh Utsav Mandal has been at the forefront of charity donations and this year, will distribute food grains to adivasi families from the Mulshi taluka. Nitin Pandit, a member of the mandal, said small villages like Dongrewadi, Adarwadi and Tamhini Khurd are home to the Katkari community, which lives in abject poverty.

"They can't make two ends meet and are subject to seasonal unemployment particularly during monsoons and are landless. We have identified 35 families and will personally distribute 1,100 kg food grains including, rice, sugar, oil, salt, dal and wheat to them. In future, some children will also be hired as permanent hands in the merchant area of Tulshi Baug," said Pandit. The Mandal has also decided against using loudspeakers and will give the money to charity.u00a0

Book distribution
A heart warming and thoughtful practice would be that of the Akra Maruti Chowk Mandal, which would not only ban loudspeakers but also fill the handis with books instead of flowers. Visually impaired children from the Pune Andhashala in Koregaon Park will first perform a traditional Mallakhamb act and then break the handi.

"We will then distribute books in the Braille script and Rs 5,001 as prize money. This has been our tradition for the past seven years," said Vinayak Ghate, coordinator.u00a0u00a0

Handi for patients
The terminally ill in hospitals will celebrate Janmashtami with the Saakhli Pir Mandal. Bhai Katre, a member of the mandal, said it would do this every year atu00a0 the Sassoon Hospital. "The handi will be broken by a patient and
milk will be distributed among all the 1,500 odd bed-ridden patients. Those hospitalised are also part of the society and should not be neglected. It gives us immense pleasure to see the terminally ill smile during festivals," said Katre.