South Goa-based Andrea Thumshirn, a baker, Ragini Dhingra, an artist and Yogita Mehra, a gardener are the three women who conceptualised the first authentic German Brezelfest Goa while toying with the idea to bring Goan and German cultures on one platform. Supported by the German Consulate, the festival has added another feather to its cap by bringing in an original Oktoberfest band from Munich, The Kirchdorfer to entertain the audience. The German Brezelfest Goa will be held today, November 7, at The Base in Seraulim from 12 pm to 10 pm.
German Bakery, Pausenenbrot will be catering German food and baked goodies \including the traditional Brezel (Pretzel). Auda Viegas, the founder of Bailancho Ekvott, will be releasing her book. Besides the various stalls at the Pop-up market, there will be workshops, including art, craft, organic kitchen gardening, life-coaching, crocheting, zero-waste living and more.
“I'm originally from Bavaria and nowadays, people are moving here and there and all the different cultures are getting mixed. I wanted to bring something original, country, authentic vibes to Goa. Everybody is trying to make an Oktoberfest and there are so many Oktoberfests around the world. I really wanted to do something really authentic and I love to go to the Oktoberfest in Pune, which is happening for the last 20 years in the German Chamber of Commerce. I have chosen Goa as my home, and so that's why I wanted to bring something from my home for the people here to enjoy,” says Andrea Thumshirn, who has been living in India for the last 14 years and in Goa for the last four years. She travels once a year to Germany to meet her parents and friends.
The authentic German band, The Kirchdorfer
The band, The Kirchdorfer are visiting Goa for the first time even though they have been performing annually at the Oktoberfest event in Pune since 2015, where they will be heading over the weekend for this year’s annual performance. Formed in 1870, the oldest member of the band currently visiting Goa is 67 years old and the youngest is 22.
Over the past few years, the band has been to many countries. This year alone, they began touring in January and will conclude the year with three weeks long performance in Tokyo, Japan. “This year, we had about 11 or 12 worldwide tours, starting in January in Chile, then to Japan in April and May, Tanzania, Angola, Japan again, Namibia, Dubai, Congo and now in India and then we will go to Japan again in about two weeks and will be playing five weeks in Tokyo for the Christmas market,” says Thomas Wohlschlaeger, the band leader, who has been with the band for 37 years.
Speaking about bringing the German culture to people around the world, Thomas informs, “We are working for AHK which is The German Chambers of Commerce Abroad, a German economic organization and their members, they are very happy if they can do an Oktoberfest one time per year to bring the culture to the different countries. This is exactly what we are doing. We want to have a culture and the original atmosphere compared with Munich and Bavaria and of course, Munich Oktoberfest. This is the reason why they want to have a German band, an authentic, original band.”
Originally a 22 piece band, The Kirchdorfer are a seven-piece band for the India Tour and they playing everything live. “There's no auxiliary, no playback, no midi files, nothing else. We are completely live band and we can do a big repertoire with this kind of instruments and vocal singers. The music is a big mixture of a lot of different genre of songs. It's 20 percent German and traditional Bavarian songs and then there’s German pop, German rock, as well as international rock and pop. And of course, many famous traditional Oktoberfest songs from Munich Oktoberfest,” says Thomas.
He further adds, “When we play in Munich Oktoberfest, we have a 22 piece band as we have to play many hours and 16 days non-stop. Therefore, it's necessary to have more musicians on the stage. But when we do some tour like here in Pune or Goa, we can reduce the band because we are playing only three or four sets. We can do it quite good with seven to nine people.”
Besides playing many modern singles by Taylor Swift or Dua Lipa, which are the people’s favourite at any Oktoberfest? “A very famous German song is ‘99 Luftballons’ by Nena and ‘Hulapalu,” says Thomas.
What do Germans living in Goa love about the state?
Richard Muller, adventure cyclist
I’ve been in Goa for 29 years now. My wife, Dr Belinda Viegas and I wanted a different life, that's why we married in Goa. Apart from similarities, there are maybe more of the differences between Goa and Germany. Whether the weather or the languages, everything is different. One of the best things is the weather for me. It's too hot, but we are outdoors, always active, especially cycling, trekking, and hiking. This is something you can do here all year round, whereas in Germany, the weather is quite often misty and cold. Overall, even though it's too hot, it's still nice to be here. I'm into cycling, gardening, I play accordion, and I like cooking and many people know me about fishing.
Katharina Poggendorf-Kakar, author and artist
I have been in Goa for 21 years and I love it because you have the beat of the city in a way is not far away. You have a lot of culture that you can attend to and yet you have nature all around you. It is a beautiful mix of a high quality lifestyle being in nature if you live in a village. This of course is all under threat right now with the onslaught on Goa with all the construction and selling that is going on but that's a different story. Goa is different from other parts of India because of its long history of having been occupied by the Portuguese. There is a strong European touch to it. I love to live here because I love India, the people, the communication between people, the connectivity. It's my home now.
Monika Hoecher, artist
I have been in Goa since 2007 and I do upholstery, floristry, painting and decoration. I love everything about Goa. There are plus points and negatives but I love how time is different in India. Europe is stricter, Goa has more freedom, and however, over the years I have been in Goa, things have changed here too. I see people talking on the roads, in my place in Germany, people have no time to talk. Money and working is important but we forget many smaller and simpler things which is important. Goa is different and a nice place for everybody.