You’ve certainly seen them on the roads of Mumbai, the colour, the crowd and the camaraderie during the Janmashtami celebrations. But Mumbai’s street festival is now getting a shot in the arm – with a little help from technology.

This year lakhs of Govindas will use the virtual world to hop from one Dahi-Handi to the next. And here’s where dahikala.com comes in. The brainchild of IT professionals who grew up navigating their way from one location to another as part of different Govinda groups; dahikala.com uses Google maps to help Govinda mandals find their way on D-day.

Sachin Shahane, the co-founder of dahikala.com says,”We have been working on this for over a year. It’s finally come together now. As Govindas, we had a tough time figuring which handis held the maximum prize money and often got lost en route. And given that it’s all in a day’s work, every minute you spend in looking for a location can be a lost opportunity. Now, this software will help Govindas plan their day well.”

The virtual guide… has the whole web. Handy list of hospitals and blood banks… insurance facilities… police emergency numbers… entire profiles of Dahi-Handis in Mumbai… and of course a Google Map to guide the wandering Govindas. They can access all of it… on their GPRS enabled phones.

Over 50 organisers and close to 200 Govinda Mandals… have already signed up. Govinda troops are seen as these macho groups… unafraid to break bones… intimidating people with their sheer numbers.

Bala Padelkar of the Govinda Mandal in Mazgaon says, ”This will definitely help us. In addition, this techno savvy avatar may make people look at us differently, especially those who think Govindas only have nuisance value. There is a lot of technique, blood and sweat that goes into our practice. It’s not about aiming for the highest prize money, it’s only passion that can truly drive a Govinda.”

Source:http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/mumbai-google-maps-for-govindas-48594