Hello Steemers,
Sharing a preview of my documentary 'The Fall of Glory' that was made in 2012. The film captures a team of 'Govindas' from the congested lanes of South Mumbai who come together to reclaim their world record of the highest human pyramid ever made.
In India festivals are a part of life. There is always a festival to get prepared for and Indian culture celebrates every religion in the world. In Hinduism it is traditional to celebrate and honour almost everything. On the eighth day of the month of Shravana (August-September), India celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, In Mumbai, the most populated Indian city, the birth of Krishna, Janmastami, is known as Dahi Handi and it is celebrated with a unique tradition. Honoring Krishna's childhood stories, pots (handis) are filled with buttermilk and then positioned high throughout the city. The Govindas (Groups) travel the entire day trying to break as many handis as possible by forming human pyramids. These groups are of all sizes and shapes, some with more than 500 people, some with only women, and all of them competing with each other. Over 4,000 handis are spread around Mumbai and over 2,000 Govinda groups compete for their prizes.
Mazgaon, at South Mumbai, is well known for their Govindas and they are the competition to be feared the most. Every year they come together to practice. After work and school, through the night they work hard to become the best. They are of all ages, for some it is their first time, for others it has been part of their entire lives.
It is exciting to restart again and it is terrifying at the same time. They have no particular skills, they are not athletes and they know they can fall and that others have broken their legs and arms in their fearless pursuit of glory. They are one community, for them this is larger than life and everything comes to that last moment when they finally reach higher then anybody else.
For 7 years old Sanika (Minti) and her 11 years old brother Akash, this is their first time with the group. They are the ones who will stand up at the top of the pyramid to break the pot. They do not share their coaches fears about falling. They sing and dance, happy to be in the middle of all of this. Arun Patil and Ganesh Patil, the main coaches, have been part of the pyramids for years and they know they need to be cautions. Every practice means a step away from falling. They remember the year of 2008 when they broke the world record (held by Spain) with a 9 human layers pyramid. That was 2008, since then they have failed to achieve the same 9 layers and every year the competition becomes tougher.
Following Sanika, Akash, their coaches, Darshan the architect and other govindas, this documentary will take us all the way from the very first day when Mazgaon comes together as a team. They don't get paid for it, their only reward is pride and glory, as all the funds collected during Dahi Handi will be donated for the coming festival of Ganpati (Elephant God). In a countdown to the last day, every day each pyramid needs to be greater, higher and without falls, the last day means the higher they have ever gone and that will bring higher risks.
As guests our team was invited into their homes, to their traditions and their beliefs. Not only we were allowed to observe their culture we also experienced it deeply and more then a documentary about an Indian Festival we found ourselves with hours of footage about a culture that joyfully celebrates life through music, dance, unity and diversity and that is what this documentary is about, this amazing, intoxicating and colorful Indian world.
(We are going to release the film on Steemit and DTube soon, Click Upvote to support and encourage, Even Follow and Resteem are useful buttons)
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