Stunning photos show Hindu devotees forming human pyramids as part of Janmashtami celebrations in India.
If you thought all the acrobatics were happening in Greenwich, think again.
Rather than Olympians battling it out at the O2 Arena, the men and boys in these human pyramids are Hindus celebrating the Janmashtami festival.
The idea is for the person who clambers to the top to try to smash a clay pot full of curd, the ‘Dahi Handi’, causing its contents to spill over those below to represent achievement through unity.
Those who succeed are hung from lines above the streets and rewarded with a cash prize for their efforts.
Janmashtami, celebrated in Mumbai, India, marks the birthday of Hindu god Krishna. Yogesh Patel, of the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir temple in Neasden, north London, said it re-enacted the mischief of the deity’s early life.
‘When Krishna was very young he used to steal curds from these pots, which were at quite a height,’ he explained. ‘The pyramid signifies trying to reach for that.’
For the 48-hour festival, many Hindus stay awake, while some fast until midnight on the first day – said to be the exact time of Krishna’s birth in 3228 BC.