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Experience the exhilarating spirit of Uttarayan in Ahmedabad – a kite-flying festival like no other!
India is renowned for its vibrant and diverse festivals that celebrate every element of nature. Be it the movement of astronomical bodies or the shift in seasons, we have a festival to cherish it. The date of 14 January each year holds significance in India because it marks the celebration of a celestial occurrence. The Gregorian Calendar denotes that we have spent a fortnight into the annual planetary revolution. In different parts of the country, people share the joy of varied rituals that symbolise this event.
On 14 January, the northward movement of the sun begins, marking the onset of Uttarayan, which is six months when the sun faces the northern hemisphere directly due to the earth's tilt. This shift in the astronomical movement brings many positive changes in the Indian subcontinent, such as the arrival of warmer, brighter days after the cold season. It also marks the beginning of the harvest of winter crops.
Uttarayan is celebrated in different ways across India – Makar Sankranti in Uttar Pradesh, Bihu in Assam, Lohri in Punjab, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, and Poush Porob in West Bengal. However, it is in Gujarat where Uttarayan is celebrated with a grandeur that soars high in the sky.
Imagine a sky filled with thousands of colourful kites. As you rest your head on the green grass, you look up and are overjoyed at this sight. However, it's not just your eyes that get a treat. You cannot ignore the aroma of the signature festival dish, undhiyu, which melts your heart nor can your ears miss the frivolous cheer as the kite runners run to grab a fallen kite. Yes, we are talking about the Kite Festival in Ahmedabad. If you have already witnessed this magnificent event, you know what I'm talking about. If not, let me tell you about this unique festival.
India has a long history of kite flying, which started as a leisure activity initially and was turned into a sport by the nawabs. As a competitive sport, kite flying found better and lighter designs, skilled players, and improved techniques with time. The sport soon became popular among the masses. A day of mingling with friends and enjoying the outdoors, Uttarayan would traditionally witness people across Ahmedabad celebrating by flying their kites.
Realising the potential of this community event, the state government decided to make it grander by announcing the first International Kite Festival in 1989. With large-scale global participation, the Kite Festival soon became popular for its unique kites, featuring international technology and design. Today, the International Kite Festival is organised every year in the second week of January.
The International Kite Festival is more than just a state-organised cultural extravaganza. The spirit of the festival is led by the people of Ahmedabad who celebrate it with as much fervour as Navratri or Diwali. While the main event takes place at the Sabarmati riverfront, you will find entire neighbourhoods coming together to organise community events.
Early in the morning, people gather on their terraces with their specially procured kites for the festival. The Patang Bazaar in Ahmedabad remains open 24x7 for a week before the festival where residents visit to select the designs of the kites as well as the kind of line they would use to fly their kites. The demand for special glass-coated lines remains high as they are instrumental in cutting and winning the opponents' kites.
Friends and family members look for terraces that provide them with the largest space to gather and fly kites. Interestingly, new connections are forged at such gatherings. Friends meet friends of friends, and distant relatives find time to reconnect. In the Gujarati lexicon, it is easy to find phrases where people define life events based on the nearest Uttarayan. Gujaratis take efforts to plan Uttarayan well in advance to make sure that everyone is involved in the festivities.
No festivity is complete without food and Uttarayan is synonymous with undhiyu, a traditional Gujarati dish that is made with seasonal vegetables. The aroma of undhiyu can bring back memories of Uttarayan to any Gujarati. Other gastronomical delights that symbolise the feast include chikki, bor, kachariyu, and khichdo. From simple munchies to elaborate slow-cooked dishes, Uttarayan has a special place in not just people's hearts but also in their tummies.
On the day of Uttarayan, adults are as excited as the kids. After all, it is a day of community engagement, just like in childhood when everyone would invite everyone in the neighbourhood to play on the ground. With that nostalgia, it is time to spar with the neighbours in a friendly competition.
Everybody is pumped-up to win the maximum number of kites. People even form alliances with their relatives to strategise the flow of the game. Communities engage in singing anthems and playing their favourite music while they get into the serious business of frolic. Everything is about this moment when all worries are set aside, with adults bringing out their inner child. And, thus, begins the festival of kites.
The ambience of the festival is so congenial that it has made its way into popular culture. For instance, the Hindi film Kai Po Che, which is set in the city of Ahmedabad, derives its name from the common phrase used during the kite festival. 'Kai Po Che' simply means 'I have cut your kite' in Gujarati. Another popular movie shot in Ahmedabad, Raees has songs that connote the kite festival. The songs Rishton ka Maanjha from Kai Po Che and Udi Udi Jaaye from Raees provide an insight into how deeply the kite festival is embedded in the cultural identity of Ahmedabad.
While the people of Ahmedabad are already in high spirits during Uttarayan, the government of Gujarat takes the festival a notch higher. The government provides a dedicated kite-flying space for international participants and serious competitors to fly kites. The International Kite Festival takes place at the scenic Sabarmati Riverfront, which is a great place to see the grand scale of festivities. There are various contests and rewards for the winners in many different categories.
International participants bring their vibrant colours to the festival here, showcasing their vividly designed kites that you wouldn't have seen or even thought of! In the past few years, the International Kite Festival has seen some unconventional kites and kite-flying techniques. Competitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, the United States, Japan, China, and Italy are known to have brought kites to the festival that would leave you speechless. Wau-Balang, llayang-llayanghave, banner kites, Rokkaku fighting kites, Chinese flying dragons, and sculptural kites are just a few examples.
Above all, a highlight of the festival is Mr Rasulbhai Rahimbhai who flies more than 50 kites using a single line. With such unique kites and the incredible skills of the kite flyers, the festival never ceases to amaze the festival attendees. All participants can fly their kites at the Sabarmati Riverfront. However, if you wish to enjoy watching the kites and the competition rather than flying kites, you can simply relax in the park and enjoy the action.
The last two years saw restrictions on the festivities owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. But in 2023, there were no curbs on enthusiasm and everyone was welcomed to the festival with open hearts.
If the idea of participating in the kite-flying festival has caught your interest, you can register on the official website of the International Kite Festival. Alternatively, if you do not plan to fly your kite but want to watch the event, you can visit the venue without prior registration.
The Sabarmati Riverfront is an ideal place for an outing with your family. If you have any friends or family members in Ahmedabad, the best way to celebrate Uttarayan is to gather with them and indulge in a fun-filled family day out.
Irrespective of how you wish to celebrate the Kite Festival, Ahmedabad is the ultimate place to be this Uttarayan. Come and witness the colours of India come alive under one sky. The International Kite Festival is a community event that truly defines the cheerful and collectivist spirit of our country.
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