Dahi Handi from Mandala Motion Pictures on Vimeo.
Popular in the state of Maharashtra, India, Dahi Handi is a ritual that takes place during the annual celebration of the festival of Gokulashtami.
Known as Krishna Janmashtami throughout the rest of the country, the festival celebrates the birth of the Hindu God, Krishna.
Dahi Handi in Maharashtra involves making a human pyramid in order to reach and break an earthen pot filled with buttermilk, which is tied at a height.
The idea of the human pyramid is based on a legend of the child god Krishna and his friends, who used to form pyramids to break pots of butter, which were hung from the ceilings of houses.
We started An Indian Voice to shoot passion projects around us in between commercial work.
Dahi Handi is a festival which is really intriguing and though popular in Maharashtra doesn't obviously have the legs outside India like a Holi or Diwali does.
The location of the festival is gripping. It happens in the middle of a street, while people are going to work, buses are passing by and citizens are getting on with their lives. There's a wonderful juxtaposition of order and chaos which breathes into the festival. That tension is what we've looked to capture in as immersive a way as possible.
At its core the film is really a celebration of people coming together and scaling huge heights. The arc is simple but the sheer difficulty, co-ordination and life and death stakes, make it hypnotic to watch.