There are different celebrations that involve kite flying apart from the Makara Sankranthi festival. These occasions are specially organized by people to gather many kiting enthusiasts at a single venue. They are known as kite festivals and are held at many places across India. They are usually single-day events, starting in the morning and going on to the afternoon or till a little beyond sunset.
The kite festivals are of two kinds. One in which there is only local participation, and the other, in which people from other countries are invited to take part, bringing in international participation.
Regional kite festivals:
These are held in various places all over India and are open to all age groups. They are usually held on large open grounds, near a beach or a riverbank, so there are no obstructions for flying kites and also a large number of people can comfortably move around. There are a number of tourists who come to especially to take part in the festivities. This festival attracts international kite flyers and local champions as well, who demonstrate their skills in flying exotic kites.
A few examples of the posters announcing the event and inviting the public to such festivals are presented below.
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The atmosphere at these festivals is more of a ‘mela’ (a carnival ) where people gather to enjoy the sport of kite flying along with kite flying competitions, demonstrations by master kite makers, etc.
Along with the emphasis on kites, the organizers of these festivals sometimes hold ramp shows, quizzes, games, various talent competitions, and musical and dance performances to entertain the visitors. Since these are day-long festivals organizers arrange for refreshments and food to be served, to all who visit them, if the number of visitors is limited. In larger gatherings, a number of food stalls offering the local, ethnic fare are arranged so the visitors can choose and buy from a wide variety.
These festivals bring together both the uninitiated as well as veteran kite flyers. Some kite festivals are conducted for children and youth by youth clubs, as kite flying is perceived as an excellent outdoor activity for children. Their aim is to inculcate in children, through kite flying the lessons of aiming high, achieving goals despite hardships in life. The kite is used as a metaphor for one’s life, to learn to soar, and fly upwards, despite many falls that may occur. In this way, many young people get initiated into this traditional sport.
The following images are of a kite festival held at Powai, Mumbai in India, where people of all age groups are flying colorful kites.
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Usually, participants bring their own colourful kites; for those without their own kites, the organizers provide them. Along with the children, the parents too participate, helping and cheering, thus both enjoy such festivals thoroughly.
With the help of the right winds and weather conditions, the sky is filled up with many kites of different shapes, and sizes. Some are made of paper, some are made of newspapers, and some are extremely colourful! Some children pick up the art of kite flying easily, while some struggle, but all are cheered and encouraged by parents, organizers, and the spectators, thus making it an unforgettable experience. Kite flying skills and techniques are also shared and picked up at such events. In the evening as the daylight starts to fade, illuminated night kites are flown in tune to live music, thus bringing an end to the fun-filled kite festival.
Kite festivals are sometimes held to promote and spread the message of peace; especially near India –Pakistan border as a pre-Independence day celebration. Kites in the sky spread the message of peace to the other side of the border, which is very important and significant especially when there is tension between the two countries, despite diplomatic efforts to ease it.
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The army organizes it with the help of kite clubs, or even schools themselves do it. These usually are one-day activities with kite flying competitions, kite fighting amongst participating school children. The kites carry the message of ‘fly for peace’ and the concept of “Sadhbhavana” gets ingrained in children and youth through such events.
These festivals are also the venues for showcasing the various types of skills related to kites. At a festival held in Mysore, in the southern state of Karnataka, India, a kite maker Ashok Shah, was a special invitee to share his excellent kite making skills and his deep passion for kites.
He has researched many kite making techniques and has made kites from all kinds of unusual materials, like thermocole, leaves, paper dishes, paper napkins, plastic etc. He makes all types of kites parafoil, Flexifoil, modern-day box kites, kites that resemble superheroes like Spiderman, and Superman, to name a few. He has created kites as small as 1 inch in size to large ones as big as 200ft.
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He has won 14 international prizes, and also travels far and wide teaching children and holding kite-making workshops to revive this once popular sport in India. Two of his unusual kite creations- an artificial diamond studded Ganesha kite are in a kite museum in Turkey, and another with Radha and Krishna, studded with artificial diamonds is in Washington’s International kite museum.
Some participants try to create records of sorts, like flying 110 tricolour kites (representing the Indian flag colours), on a single line, or flying a really large kite, like Gulabchand R. Jangid, did in Nagpur, Maharashtra. He flew an Indian fighter kite sized 197.34 feet x 67.42 feet (13304.662 sq. feet) long weighing 150 kg, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti Festival at Resham Bagh Ground, Nagpur on January 13, 2012. The kite was made of plastic cloth supported by 15 bamboo sticks, and 5 ft long SS pipes of 2.5-inch diameter, and was flown using 600 feet of nylon rope that was19 mm thick.
The largest Indian fighter kite. (
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In Kolkotta, West Bengal, India, a group of more than 1200 people including children have created a record for flying the maximum number of kites at a single gathering by a group, recorded in the Limca book of records.
International kite festivals:
Some states in India conduct International kite festivals, where kite flyers from all over the world are invited to fly kites.
Gujarat Tourism promotes the International Kite Festival festival, during Makara Sankranti in different parts of the state in a big way. This festival draws crowds to witness the show of eminent kite flyers from other states and countries displaying their exotic kites of various designs. There is a spectacular show of colourful kites in the sky throughout that day. More than 150 kite flyers gather here. Kite making workshops, a pavilion that showcases the history and significance of kites, and demonstrations by master kite makers are some of the activities that happen during this festival. The night kite flying at the International kite festival in Gujarat is very famous; the highlight is kite flyers from all over the world flying kites with lamps tied to kite strings called ‘Tukkals’ in the night sky near the Sabarmati river. The International Kite Festival in Gujarat has become a major tourist attraction. Kite flyers are also taken on city tours as a part of the festival.
The posters of a few of these festivals are presented here.
A poster of the 27th International Kite Flying Festival 2014 in Ahmedabad.(
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RAJKOT Kite Festival 2014 at ISHWARIYA Park Rajkot Gujarat India(
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Kerala’s India International Kite festival -2010(
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Participants from various countries like the UK, France, and Indonesia, bring in their unique artwork as well as kite flying traditions. A few kite flyers that visited the International kite festivals in Gujarat in recent years are mentioned below.
Michele Gressier from Toulouse, France, is one such passionate kite maker, who is a painter by profession and his hand painted kites are unique and original. When these works of art are flown in the sky, they are a memorable sight. He has participated in a number of kite festivals across Europe, Japan, and Ahmedabad-India. His kites are admired and collected by art connoisseurs. The cost of his kite designs varies from 500 to 30,000 euros, and his work is displayed at kite museums in Japan.
Derek Kuhn, from the UK, creates kites that are symbolic of the community’s relationship with nature. He conducts workshops for children and through them makes them appreciate aspects of nature and wilderness. According to him, kite flying is a beautiful experience, which connects one to the trees, and nature.
Graham Lockwood also from the UK has been flying kites for the past 15 years. He can do extraordinary things related to kite flying, the recent achievement being able to fly 3 kites at a time, one with each of his hands, and another tied to his waist and he synchronizes his movements to music.
