Spain’s spectacular version of our Janmashtami dahi-handi contest

What do you think this is? Yes, it is exactly what you think: A congregation of thousands of people trying to successfully build.....a human tower. (AP)

Updated on: Oct 04, 2016 5:18 PM IST

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What do you think this is? Yes, it is exactly what you think: A congregation of thousands of people trying to successfully build.....a human tower. (AP)

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A snapshot from the 26th Human Tower Competition in Tarragona, Spain, held on Sunday. (Reuters)

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The Spanish people follow a peculiar tradition every year — that of building castells or human towers as long as 10 stories tall. (Reuters)

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Several teams, colloquially known as colles, engage in a contest to build the tallest and the most complex tower of humans who stand atop of each other. (Reuters)

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A team is considered to have successfully completed the task only if it is able to build and deconstruct its tower without any of its member falling in the process. (Reuters)

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The tradition of building human towers dates back to the 18th century and takes place during festivals in Catalonia, Spain, where teams compete to build the tallest and most complicated towers. (AP)

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The structure of a human tower varies depending on its complexity. The more complex the tower, the bigger the feat. (Reuters)

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The highest castell ever formed in history was a 10-floor structure with 3 people making each floor. (Reuters)

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In 2010, UNESCO declared castells as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (Reuters)

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How many different teams can you spot? Does this not remind you of the dahi-handi contest that we have in almost every mohollah a day after Janmashtami? Only that this is much, much bigger. (Reuters)

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People display esteladas (Catalan separatist flags) during the competition. They do look as excited as the contestants. Don’t they? (Reuters)