Fast Facts
Venue: Jaipur, Rajasthan
Significance: Tourist and Religious Festival
Duration of Festival: 1 Day
Month of Celebration: 14th January (every Year) on Makar Sankranti
Next Date of Event: 14 February 2009 and 14 February 2010
Reaching There: Regular trains, flights and buses from all major
cities connect Jaipur with other cities.
About Kite Festival
Enjoyed by all ages alike is the Kite Festival of
Jaipur. It is the time
when people irrespective of their age indulge in the rapture of seeing their
kites soaring high in the blue unknown. 14th January when the sun changes
its direction from uttrayan to dakshinayan. Whole sky looks like a beautiful
painting, vibrant with colors of red, blue, green, yellow etc. The kite
swirling liberally in the blue are determinant to set free from the chords.
Huge kite flying competitions are held and with each kite cutting loose, a
loud shout of 'Ya Kata Bhai Wo Kata' echoes in the surroundings.
Kite flying had been a favorite
of many since ages. This tradition of kite flying has been taken seriously
by the Government of Rajasthan and so an International Kite Flying Festival
is held in every five year at Jaipur in Rajasthan where great battles of
kite flying are fought. It is the
best time to witness a mosaic of various
sorts of kites. Kite makers have ample opportunity to flaunt their mastery
of kite making.
Attractions of Kite Festival
The festival has started a few years ago. With no religious affiliation as
such, the event has become more of a tourist's delight. People enjoy hanging
on their terraces right from morning till late in the evening. The loud
volumed music adds to the ecstasy of kite flying battles. With
music and
kite flying one more thing accompanies and that is delicious 'chikki'.
The tourists are also equally enthusiastic about the festival. Visit the
state during the season and you get to see kites of varied styles and sizes.
At times you can even see some huge kites as big as 1.5 Km with various
designs and patterns. Where there are kites with some messages inscribed on
them, there are some having social issues, some caricatures of politicians.
Even tourists love to take part in these Kite Flying competitions. It is a
real delight to see different kites strangling and struggling with each
other.