Pune Oktoberfest 2022

You can dance in any style as long as it blends with the beat and the music.

I am talking of the Oktoberfest held in Pune this year and the live band.

The one on the keyboard was versatile and at times I spied him with an accordian.

Many turned up in the German traditional outfit and were willing to pose for pictures.

There were photographers galore and the bigger the camera the more willing the people are ready to be clicked.

As for these beer spouts, I wonder if they are real pressure gauges.

First time I got to see a portable Beer dispenser. Away from the madding crowd quietly dispensing the Beer.

I liked the innovative T-shirt of a Beer stall by using the local language (Marathi) Loosely translated it means,"How about having a round of drinks today"

These transparent glasses are a good way of advertisement. Keep staring at the names till the beer is over.

Meanwhile there were frequent sorties to the beer bar for a refill.

Some even had long banners unfurled to catch the eyeballs

Saw this couple enjoying the music and they were light on their feet, so I dedicated a video totally on them (and sent them the video link) Don't miss the expression on that child's face at the bottom corner

In fact I captured many in action and made three small videos. Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 There is some more footage of the band and if time permits, I will upload them too. If you see most of the pictures above in fancy colours, it is because of the psychedelic lights that were used at the venue (and a nightmare for photographers) I mean just compare the two pictures below. It is the same singer Gisele in both the cases but see the difference the lighting makes.

The Great Indian Weddings

Attending weddings are fun, or so it may seem to most people.

Have attended quite a few and I must say each region (of India) has a different way of celebrating the event.

Some of the most sober (and poker faced) ones are the ones that I have seen in my own community. The guests just come, eat and go. Some of them don’t even bother to wish the couple. And after reaching home they discuss about the amount of gold the bride was wearing (or should have worn)

Recently I attended a Bengali wedding in Calcutta. There are a lot of rituals and customs that are followed, but on the whole it was fun and colourful.

It was nice to see that all the guests took a keen interest in the proceedings. I tried to capture most of it on video but it was a tough fight wading through the multitude of the relatives who were milling around the couple.

I was lucky as far as the lighting goes, as the marriage hall was very spacious and well lit. I also found that every time I was strategically placed so that all the events were happening right in front of me.

Even though there was an official photographer, you could see that practically every one was trying to capture a slice of the action. 

I managed to get a lot of footage but the challenge was to edit and compress it so that the viewer would not get bored . Finally I managed to do it……. a three day event compressed to 33 minutes. Attaching here a part of it (about 10 minutes) 

Like I said before, it is colourful and lively.