With the monsoons hailing down on us and temperatures refusing to die down, the only place left to offer respite is quite possibly underwater. Finkick Adventures the pioneers behind India’s first ever underwater festival are bringing back their underwater festival to Pune, on September 10, 2017. Aiming to promote a love of the ocean and diving are founders Kshitij Mittal and Ankit Saboo, the men behind the Pune Underwater Festival. The landlocked city of Pune might seem like an odd choice to conduct an aquatic event but the founders justify it saying that they hope to bring the love of diving right to the city where it is most lacking.
“In terms of diving, people mostly associate it with islands and exotic locations. So we thought of promoting it in the city so it is convenient and so people experience it before deciding to go to the ocean and continuing there.” say Mittal and Saboo. They laughingly admit, “I mean it was also to make diving cool but there is definitely a conservation element to it.” With the ocean succumbing to the high levels of water pollution, water-based recreation has also been one of the factors that has led to it, albeit a small one. “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” they tell us.
The event, open to both swimmers and non-swimmers above the age of ten, boasts of cool activities including The Underwater Playground, Underwater Hockey and Dive Games . In terms of conservation efforts, the schedule also includes a photography exhibition of different conservationists and photographers’ works that capture the beauty of the ocean’s flora and fauna. There is also the Surface Interval which is a lounge for SSI, PADI and CMAS certified SCUBA Divers only.
This innovative initiative is inclusive of differently-abled individuals as well, something we rarely see in India. One of the most prominent differently-abled participants is Ashok Munne, a 28-year-old single amputee who has let nothing stop his adventurous spirit. With a passion for mountaineering and adventure sports, Ashok has even attempted to complete the treacherous Mount Everest trek. He is a trained paraglider, a champion marathon runner and biking enthusiast. He trained with Finkick Adventures to learn SCUBA diving and will also be competing in the underwater obstacle race among other events. Talking about the festival, he says, “After my accident I spent nearly one and a half years recovering and I felt like all hope was gone but I made up my mind that nothing is impossible. I tried to live life as normally as possible, began working again and driving. It was a long process but I did not want anything to hinder my love for adventure. 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.” Partnering up with Finkick is Adventures Beyond Barriers, a company that promotes the participation of differently-abled people in adventure sports. Founder Divyanshu Ganatra, who is visually impaired, will also be participating in a number of events, he believes in leading by example and showing people that they shouldn’t limit themselves.
“I’m eagerly awaiting the underwater festival. Especially looking forward to the Dive games and the Surface Interval Lounge.” says Ronabir, one of the numerous participants in the festival. “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.” He adds. In a country that is brimming with different water bodies, initiatives like this are important as it encourages people to experience water from a different perspective. Instead of preaching about conservation, it nudges people to form a bond with the environment, actually get into the water and discover the magic beneath that lies hidden to most of us.
To find out more about the Underwater Festival, click here or visit their Facebook page.
Feature Image Courtesy Of Finkick Adventures