Hi @Rana_8
Thanks for sharing. I’ve resized your photo to make them appear better and moved this to Travel as it’s more suitable in this topic. Could you tell us more about the Kite Festival? Is this an annual event? What exactly is happening? What are the tickets to the event?
It’s always better to share more information to help understand your posts. Thanks!
Thank you
G.
- Yes this is annual event
- There is no tickets it’s FREE
Since 1989, the city of Ahmedabad has hosted the International Kite Festival as part of the official celebration of Uttarayan , bringing master kite makers and flyers from all over the world to demonstrate their unique creations and wow the crowds with highly unusual kites. In past years, master kite makers from Malaysia have brought their wau-balang kites, llayang-llayanghave come from Indonesia, kite innovators from the USA have arrived with giant banner kites, and Japanese rokkaku fighting kites have shared the skies with Italian sculptural kites, Chinese flying dragons, and the latest high-tech modern wonders. A master kite maker and famous kite flyer Rasulbhai Rahimbhai of Ahmedabad trains of up to 500 kites on a single string have come to be a classic attraction. Almost every known variety of kite can be seen in the skies over Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, from box kites to high-speed sport kites, from windsocs and spinsocs to hand-painted artistic kites.
When
Uttarayan is celebrated every year on 14th January, known as Makar Sankranti in other parts of north India, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu, and continues on the 15th.
Where
Uttarayan is celebrated across Gujarat, with major centers of kite-flying in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Nadiad, among others. The International Kite Festival is held in Ahmedabad. For information on how to get here for the festival, see the ‘Tourism Hubs’ pages for the place you want to fly your kites this year.
History
Kites are believed to have first arrived in India either through Muslim traders coming eastward through Persia or Buddhist pilgrims coming from China in search of sacred texts. Either way, they have a long history in the region. Over 1000 years ago, kites were mentioned in song by the composer Santnambe, and numerous classic miniature paintings of typical scenes in the area depict people flying kites. Since Gujarat is at the westernmost edge of India, it is one of the regions where Muslim and Hindu cultures have blended to a great degree in many aspects. Hence, the development of using kites, probably brought by Muslims, to celebrate Uttarayan, a Hindu festival. Still, no one knows exactly when this tradition began.
Event calendar for the next five years
7th to 14th January 2020
January 2021
January 2022
January 2023
January 2024
Disclaimer: You are requested to check the exact dates with Gujarat Tourism office before finalising your travel plans for this festival.
Who Comes
Though Uttarayan is originally a special day of the Hindu calendar, it is said that the idea of flying kites to celebrate the date was a concept that arrived with Muslims from Persia, and it has now transcended all religious boundaries. No matter what your background or beliefs, if you are in Gujarat in January, you will no doubt find yourself flying kites with everyone else. Visitors come from around India for the celebration, many Gujaratis who live outside the state choose this time to make their trip home, and international visitors have come from countless countries, including Japan, Italy, the UK, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, the USA, Malaysia, Singapore, France, China, and many more.
@Rana_8 Thanks for the detailed information. Please remember to use @ when you’re replying to others so that they will receive your notification. Thank you.