India hosted its first ever underwater festival this week, weirdly enough, in the landlocked city of Pune.
The festival organisers Kshitij Mittal and Ankit Saboo, who founded the a local dive centre there, Finkick Adventures, said they wanted to bring the thrill of underwater activities to the people of cities.
"In terms of diving, people mostly associate it with islands and exotic locations," Saboo and Mittal told website Homegrown.
"So we thought of promoting it in the city, so it is convenient and so people can experience it before deciding to go to the ocean and continuing there."
The festival was held at the Divisional Sports Complex, Yerwada and had something to fit everyone’s ability in or under water.
Source: Pune Underwater Festival
Even non-swimmers had certain activities planned for them. The activities included water polo, scuba diving, underwater hockey, chess, cycling and much more.
The participants were able to select a port based on their affability with water. Strong swimmers keen on learning scuba diving interacted with professionals for guidance and those looking for adventure had plenty of travel packages available to them.
The festival was also inclusive of all abilities. For 28-year-old single amputee adventure enthusiast, Ashok Munne this was a great opportunity.
Source: Pune Underwater Festival
"I did not want anything to hinder my love for adventure," Munne says.
"I picked up diving pretty fast and with my participation in the festival I hope to encourage more people to try such things and show differently-abled people that they too can try this."
Underwater photographers had an absolute ball too - with the opportunities galore to enjoy capturing some unique moments beneath the surface.
Underwater Games at the the UnderWater Festival Source: Facebook
The founders admit that the festival came about as a means to spruik their business - but they hope it has blossomed into something else too.
"I mean it was also to make diving cool but there is definitely a conservation element to it," Saboo and Mittal explain.
"We work on shark conservation and turtle conservation but if we don’t show people that sharks are dying and the aquatic life is deteriorating, they aren’t going to understand. So we want to encourage people to experience the ocean and form a close bond with and we feel like this festival is a stepping stone to that."
The festival has been welcomed by all adventure seekers who are eagerly waiting to participate. One of the participants Ronabir said, "it’s a truly one of kind event, especially since it is being held in a land-locked city. If water excites you, you should definitely participate."
