It is that time of the year again when the skies will be flooded with colors and the never-much-used terraces will be full of people! All eyes set at the competition with the people of the opposite terrace, all ears at the local radio stations playing hip-hop songs and all hands on the KITE STRINGS! Yes, it’s Uttrayan time. It is the time when winter begins to turn to summer. All the routine activities are shut and people take to rooftops and roadways to fly kites. The fest (14-15 January) goes on from early morning until late night and leaves on beautiful scenes that linger on one’s mind forever.
Gujarat is the only state where this festival called Makarsankranti or Uttrayan is celebrated with so much zeal and enthusiasm across all the major cities. Kites of all shapes and sizes are flown, and the main competition is to battle nearby kite-flyers to cut their strings and bring down their kites. The atmosphere is totally festive with everyone from children to adults enjoying on the rooftops. Special food like ladoos, undhiyu and jalebis add to the pleasure. It is also the best time for socializing as group kite-flying is utmost fun and cousins, friends and relatives often gather at the optimum terrace!
Without any distinctions of caste, religion or age, if you are in Gujarat in the month of January, you will find yourself enjoying this beautiful festival with others. 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 come from countless countries, including Japan, Italy, UK, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, USA, Malaysia, Singapore, France, China, and many more.
INTERNATIONAL KITE FESTIVAL
Since 1989, Ahmedabad has been home to the International Kite Festival as a part of the official celebration of Uttrayan. The fest calls for master kite makers and flyers from all over the world to demonstrate their unique creations and wow the crowds with highly unusual kites. All known varieties of kites are found 
at this festival, from hand-painted artistic kites to high-speed sports kites.
What is more exciting is that the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) has promised a bigger bash for the International Kite Festival 2011! Visitors can look forward to splurge on food, shop from craft bazaars and enjoy watching kites of different size and shape flying along the banks of Sabarmati during this fest.
The celebration is scheduled from January 9 to 12 on the 1.5 km stretch of Sabarmati riverfront project between Gandhi Bridge and Nehru Bridge.
Here are the glimpses of previous years’ festivals, they speak louder than words! But, experience will shout the loudest; do not miss it this year!
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Aditi Rindani 