INDIALINE
Complete India Travel Guide

International Kite Festival

Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Time: January 14th

About International Kite Festival

International Kite Festival is an annual event which is celebrated in the colorful land of Ahmedabad, Gujarat on January 14th every year. Basically, the idea of International Kite Festival flourished from an old ritual when on the occasion of Makar Sankranti or Uttarayan, people of Gujarat loves to engage themselves in kite flying.

Uttarayan is a significant festival of Gujarat and heralds a change of season marking the movement of sun into the northern hemisphere. This festival is celebrated to mark the end of winter season. In this very occasion, entire azure sky over the Ahmedabad city is filled with colorful kites of various sizes and designs from early morning to late at night.

Gujarati people irrespective of their age, caste, and creed comes out of their homes and gather on the rooftops to participate in kite flying. They engage themselves in kite flying battle with nearby kite -flyers to cut their strings and bring down their kites. The atmosphere is wonderfully festive and to add more glitter to this festival, special foods like laddoos , undhyu or surati jamun are prepared for eating over the course of the day, and friends and neighbors visit each other for group kite-flying fun.

History of International Kite Festival

To popularize this Kite flying festival more, every year Tourism Department of Gujarat organizes International Kite Festival at the capital city of Gujarat on January 14th . Since 1989, Ahmedabad is hosting this festival, which beckons expert kite makers and kite flyers from all across the globe. They exhibits their unique creations and mesmerize the crowd with highly unusual and innovative kites.

Venue of International Kite Festival

Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad is the esteemed venue for this mega event.

Attractions Of International Kite Festival

Kites of various designs and sizes are the prime attractions of this festival. Kites belonging to various countries like Wau-Balang Kites of Malaysia, Llayang-llayanghave Kites of Indonesia, Giant Banner Kites of U.S.A, Rokkaku Fighting Kites of Japan, Flying Dragons of China, Sculpture Kites of Italy shares the boundless sky with colorful Indian kites.