Dickensian fair

There were two thoughts that were constantly running in my head that day. 

1. This wasnt an option, it was default - I had to go see the fair. 

2. I also hated that there weren't venues like this for Indian history- considering how much older our civilization is.

My friend later said how she ofcourse knew I was going to come. Remember, she said, all the Jane Austens and Jane Ayre we had read. That is when it stuck me, It was just not that. The fiction might have been the triggering point followed by various TV adaptations but between downton abbey and the slew of  dramas that came along with hulu subscription (formed a significant part of my TV watching last year) - I was quite deep into 18th century Britain.

I wonder if English people were as fascinated as I was or we were I mean lets face it  - a certain portion of population in India is unfortunately/fortunately way too familiar with british culture from that time frame. But then British people seem to be too. I mean they keep making TV series out of these classics at regular intervals. BBC seems to be making Pride and prejudice every decade( or is it every 5 years?). Even their modern tales like bridget jone's diary are reworks of Pride and prejudice - seriously they should move little more to the future. 

Nevertheless it was fun. I was quite impressed with how perfectly they had put together the elements of that period. 

Like every fair, coordinating between different shows was tough. Highlight not just of the shows but of the whole fair for was the dance. The rest of Europe dances were much more fun than ball room dancing, there is only footwork but the rhythm in them draws you in.

There were other shows we attended including a burlesque(not so risque considering our times)

Apart from the shows, there were constant displays where people actually lived like how they would have lived in that period.

Between not just the participants, but pretty much every one of the visitor was dressed in costumes of that era. We and few more people (less than 15) were the only ones who werent in costume.

There were all sorts of artifiacts from that era - ghost gun, printing press and so on. I finally learnt how a handloom works. 

A coffee pot, how cute?

Looks like they have always been fascinated with broom sticks and wands. 

Finally something that might come close to dickensian drama, (apparently poverty and alcoholism went hand in hand just like modern day India - which means there might be some light for people like these in India too in the future, no?).

Got to try on a , puzzle ring, corset, the whole dress(cost megabucks)so just tried. All in all thorughly enjoyed the fair.

Ps:Fair was on during november/december. Finally, getting around to posting about it.