Monday, October 20, 2014

Oktoberfest in Pune India


I made it a point to attend the Oktoberfest this year. This is the sixth year that it is being held in Pune and I kept missing it for one reason or the other. It was a three day affair, held at the race course and conducted by the Indo-German Chambers of Commerce.

Having a ring side view of the horse race was an added privilege as that was a part of the Oktoberfest. (more on the horse race in the next post

In fact horse races in the presence of the Royal family (in 1810) marked the close of the event that was celebrated as a festival for the whole of Bavaria. The decision to repeat the horse races in the subsequent years gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest. A painting of the horse race held in 1813. 


  Coming back to Pune, the German band Die Sulmtaler was in attendance and I must say that they did a good job of keeping the crowd entertained.


Matthias was liberal with his smatter of Hindi “Maja aa raha hai?” 


Many had turned up in the Dirndls. 



Almost all hit the dance floor (or swayed with the music) 





The kids too had a gala time




There were photo opportunities for many



Some liked to be clicked 





but I found that the candid ones were better and had a natural appeal 









The second day being a Saturday, the dance floor was jam packed, so many decided to make do with the table top 


A special mention should be made about the beer and the German food. 



and the sale of the food coupons was brisk


Had the opportunity to witness the "tapping" of the beer keg. (and drank some beer directly from the keg)




The only thing that I found out of place were the plastic glasses.



I mean when you think of beer you always associate it with beer bottles or beer mugs 







Have compiled some videos with more photographs. 

Noticed that these videos were also uploaded at the PuneOktoberfest FB site







36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like a fun place for a weekend.
Agree with you on the plastic glasses - Charles

Jim and Sandie said...

Now that looks like a great time. I love the picture of the little one sitting on Mom's lap. You really got some great pictures. Glad you were able to make it this year.

Rama Ananth said...

Some how oktoberfest doesn't seem really good with plastic glasses and tiny beer bottles and no pretzels.
We were there in Munich during the festival time. The weather being so good with no rains, and the day being a friday, everyone was dressed in their traditional dresses, and people had started drinking from 4pm itself. Our hotel was just 5 mins walking distance from the grounds of the festival.
The videos are good.

Joanne Noragon said...

Oktoberfest in India! Thanks for the pictures; I could not have imagined.

Chongololo09 said...

Great pics and narration, Joe. Thanks for sharing link. Happy anniversary.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
That's as much a culture clash as one is likely to find! I do like a good sauerkraut though... YAM xx

Our photos said...

Wow, looks like a nice festival !

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Great photos but I really think the candid shots are the very best.Looks like an enjoyable time for everyone!

Jeannette said...

Your candid shots are really good.

anilkurup59 said...

Fascinating.
Ye beer and mugs they cannot be a better combo.

psychelyn said...

That's surely a great fest! Photos speak for the hit of the event itself. I like the print on the shirt... yeah beer happy!

Sharmila said...

Missed it. Would have been something new and interesting. Love the candid photos.

Icy BC said...

Looks like a fun event!

Brownie on weight loss said...

OMG what fun, this doesn't seem like Pune at all

TexWisGirl said...

lots of folks enjoying the festivities. i don't drink beer but i like german food. :)

Sylvia K said...

What a fun event indeed!! And fun for everyone it would seem!! I would definitely have enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing and thanks for commenting on my blog! Hope your week is going well!

George said...

This looks as if it was a fun festival to attend.

Ela said...

It looks like a great event ! Wonderful photos !
Greetings

imac said...

Interesting Blog, great photos - many thanks for your comments Haddock.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Haddock: So nicely captured of a fun experience.

joeh said...

Oktoberfest in India...who knew! Yes, beer should be in bottles or mugs, unless it is at a college fraternity party, then plastic is ok,

Sandee said...

What a fun weekend this appears to be. Love the Don't Worry Beer Happy shirt.

Have a fabulous day. ☺

Christine said...

wow what a fabulous occasion!

Connie said...

This looks like it was a lot of fun for those attending. Great job capturing this event, Joe.

Henny Penny said...

Oh my! Your blog is amazing! I could spend the day here reading and looking at the great pictures! Also, I love your "about me" statement...good advice for all of us.

Anita said...

You do know how to live and have fun! Thanks for sharing.
The pictures are great and so is one of the videos that I peeked into.

Anita said...

ps. I love to see horses doing anything!

A Good Moroccan said...

Looks great. Not the traditional Indian festival though!

Anonymous said...

I am not going to miss this next year - Geeta

Poppy said...

Looks like such a great time was had by all!! Lovely photos, especially the candid ones!

Poppy

Baconfat said...

Very cool post, the wife and I are going to visit fairly soon. We'll have till wait till next October, now.

Karen Xavier said...

This is pretty cool, never thought there would be an Oktoberfest in India... pictures are nice, looks like everybody had a fun time.

Gaurav Majithia said...

Superb!!.. Nicely written.. Do join us next year as well.. Hope to see you at another event in Pune.. :)

Preeti said...

Haha.. never knew Oktoberfest happens in India !

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing!
I didn't know this happened in Pune, India!
Vielen Dank!

ishmusings.blogspot.com said...

Nice pictures...reminds of the Oktoberfest in Frankenmuth, Michigan. They have beautiful ice sculptors and icy slides for kids.