“Festivals are very popular in India, especially with kids. One festival in particular is called Dahi Handi: D-A-H-I H-A-N-D-I. It’s held in honor of Lord Krishna, and we – how do I explain this? There’s a pot full of curd, and it’s like, hung off of a rope, like a number of stories off of the ground, you know, with poles and stuff.  And people, like volunteers, or groups, or teams, or whatever, they basically make like human pyramids; like you know, one person stands on top of another. And like, in the end, somebody basically crawls up and smashes the pot and like the curd falls, and like there’s happiness and good times and stuff. So that’s a pretty popular festival in India.”

My informant participated in this festival every year as he was growing up. The thing I liked most about collecting this particular piece of folklore is that the game is a collaborative effort to accomplish something. I’ve personally always found the Indian culture very fascinating, hence my collecting from the vast majority of the Indian friends I’ve surrounded myself with while attending USC. One major point that I’ve found to be a constant, is their love for life and their willingness to work together for a common goal. I feel that this story exemplified that and I’m very honored that he shared it with me!