Testing the limits of human potential and endurance through sports or sports-like activities is an age-old practice. However, a few sharp questions must be asked when highly hazardous physical activities are given the stature of or are treated on par with sports, especially with considerable political backing and large purses of prize monies. Two people, one a 32-year-old man and another a teenager of barely 14 years, died, and more than 300 were injured in Mumbai and Thane over the weekend as the annual Dahi Handi pyramids were formed to mark Krishna Janmashtami or Gokulashtami.

Dahi Handi has been among Maharashtra’s favourite festivals; its photos are displayed on tourist........

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