Pune, Aug. 16 -- The historic Lal Mahal Chowk in Pune turned into a sea of devotees and Govindas on Saturday night as thousands gathered for a unique, first-of-its-kind DJ-free Dahi Handi.

The event was organised by the Punit Balan Group along with 26 leading Ganesh mandals of Pune City, replacing blaring DJs with traditional dhol-tasha, lezim, Prabhat band, Mumbai's Worli Beats and the devotional Shiv Mahakal troupe from Ujjain. The celebration aimed to revive the festival's cultural essence.

Govinda troupes, including Radhekrishna, which successfully broke the handi with an eight-tier human pyramid, while several others, like Vande Mataram, Natraj, Mhasoba, Bhoiraj and Shivkanya (Mumbai), also participated in the celebration with enth...