Uttarayan Kite Festival-14th January

Happy Kite festival

The vibrant state of Gujarat, which is a cauldron of various cultures, traditions, and colors, people of the state soak themselves in the enthusiasm of the Uttarayan, the day of the International Kite Festival. People of all age groups find themselves awake and soaring their kites high in the sky since early morning on this day.

The International Kite Festival is held in Ahmedabad every year to coincide with the festival of Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti. Uttarayan is one of the most important festivals for us Indians, as this day marks the change of the winter season to summer and signifies harvest season for farmers.  This festival is much eagerly awaited and is celebrated with enthusiasm and fervor by the Gujarati community. Many visitors from across the world visit Gujarat during this time to witness and actively participate in this eccentric and kaleidoscopic festivities.

International kite festival
Image credit Kaushik Patel- Flickr

The History of Kite Flying and International Kite Festival

As per history, it is believed that India is the origin of kite flying, once a legacy of the kings and royalties later followed the Nawabs, who found the sport entertaining and show their power and position. Later, which was once a sport for the kings, became a popular phenomenon among the masses. It has been a regional event in Gujarat for quite a long time, however, in 1989, the first International Kite Festival was celebrated, and people from all across the world gathered to showcase their innovations with kites.

Since Gujarat, has served as a stopover and a center of trade activities from the Persian regions, it serves a true place of the cultural blend of the Hindu and Muslim cultures. Though believed that the Persians introduced the idea of flying kites to celebrate Uttarayan, it has been celebrated with great enthusiasm by the people of Gujarat.

 You may also like to read The International Kite Festival

A night lit up on Makar Sankranti Uttarayana Festival
A night lit up on Makar Sankranti Uttarayana Festival with Kites and Lights India
Image credit Bhavishya Goel from Gothenburg, Sweden

The celebrations at the International Kite Festival

On this day, people wake up early before sunrise and arrangements start for the making of delectable Gujarati delicacies as an integrated part of the festivity celebrations. Children and male members of the family gather in groups on the rooftops to reserve their places to fly kite throughout the day. Numerous and indigenously different types of kites are flown with kite experts arrive from different parts of the world and especially in Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, the sky is covered with different kind of kites from Box kites to high-speed sports kites to windsocks and hand painted artistic kites. One of the highlights of the celebration which is a delight for visitors is the kite of master kite maker Rahim Bhai of Ahmedabad, whose 500 kites attached on a single string still remains a top attraction of the festival celebrations.

Rajiv Seharawat.

Rajiv Seharawat is a man who wears many feathers on his hat. He is a one-man army and runs the whole show. He is in his Diet Clinic Health Care Pvt. Ltd. He is visiting his Franchise outlets and happily giving time to his friends and others and motivating everyone to do the best in their life.

The International Kite Festival

With the onset of January, there are many festivals to look forward to. According to the Indian calendar, the day when winter begins to turn into summer and the farmer gets ready for the harvest season it is called Makara Sankranti or Uttarayan. It is a bright sunny day with brisk breezes ideal for the kites to soar in the skies. It is celebrated every year on 14th January.

The International Kite Festival (Uttarayan) is one of the biggest festivals celebrated in Gujarat, India. The kites are manufactured months before this festival at Patang Bazaar, the special kite market where you can get kites and kite supplies. The kite makers prepare a strong kite with springy bamboo frames and kite paper. This is then attached with a spool of manja (a kite-string that is coated with the mixture of glass and glue so that you could cut strings of rival kites.

Manja (the string with which kite is flown) Maker, Meena Kadri - http://www.flickr.com/photos/meanestindian/357930034/
Manja (the string with which kite is flown) Maker

 The International Kite Event takes place in Ahmedabad. The event is organised by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited. You could enjoy this festival at its best from Sabarmati Riverfront where the sky is filled with thousands of kites. This festival is on 10th and 11th January. It is one of the most colourful festivals to be celebrated on the national and international level. There is fervor of humanity, celebration, vigor and excitement. It is a platform that allows people from all walks of life to come together and display their skills in flying.

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Kites are made from different materials like paper and cloth. There is an amazing collection on display from simple and fancy kites in all shapes and sizes. Kites also have social messages, awareness information in unique patterns and designs. Each kite is unique. Kites with geometric designs are a common sight. Kite flyers experiment with various things like string, kite shapes, sizes, and materials like paper, khadi, silk, fibre glass and polyester film.

International-Kite-Festival-2016-in-AHmedabad

Schedule of the event across Gujarat, India is as follows:

8th Jan 2016 – Surat, Rajkot

9th Jan 2016- Vadodara and Bhavnagar

10 and 11th – Sabarmati Riverfront, Ahmedabad

12th– Bhuj and Porbandar

13th -Modhera and Khambhat

14th– Pol, Ahmedabad

International Kite Flying -2016 will have around 100 participants from various countries like UK, Germany, Austria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, USA, Canada, Thailand, Italy, Estonia, Cambodia, Netherland, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Philippines, Vietnam, Argentina, China, Turkey, Brazil, Belgium, France, Nigeria, Poland and South Korea.

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Kite Masters and flyers from around the world showcase their unique creations and wow the crowds with their unusual kites. A few years back, kite makers from Malaysia brought their wau-balang kites, giant banner kites were bought by kite innovators of USA and Japanese rokkaku fighting kites shared space in the sky with sculptural kites from Italy and flying dragons from China.

If you are in Gujarat, India, in the month of January then do not miss out this festival.

Happy-Uttarayan-2013-500x500

*/ PS. The above schedule is subject to change. /*

Image sources: indiatvnews.com

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Meena Kadri