![]() As mentioned above, it’s also a state that loves a party, with over 200 festivals celebrated every year. It is an area full of culture being on the Arabian Sea it has a great history of seafaring, has made a great contribution to India’s literature and has a special place in India’s heart as the state where Mahatma Gandhi was born. ![]() The state of Gujarat, on India’s west coast, shares a border with Rajasthan but is an area that remains blissfully off India’s international tourist trail. ![]() Oh, and the best place to simply enjoy a sky full of kites is from the Sabarmati Riverfront, also in Ahmedabad. The biggest market is in the city of Ahmedabad, Patang Bazaar, and is open 24 hours a day during the festival week, doing a roaring kite trade. With hundreds of people buying and selling kites, these markets spring up everywhere – people even set up small shops in their homes, selling their homemade kites. During the week, there are kite fighting tournaments, where competitors attempt to cut each other’s kite strings, night flights with twinkling lights and plenty of kite markets. For those of us who are up on our kite lingo, there may be wau-balang kites from Malaysia, huge banner kites from the USA and Rokkaku fighting kites from Japan, alongside many other local, national and international offerings. Kites, lots and lots of kites! They come in all different shapes and sizes and from all over the world. Image credit: By Parin309 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, What is there to see? The kite festival brings together all of the residents of Gujarat, be they Hindu or otherwise, so it’s the perfect place to add on to any holidays in India to be able to interact with locals from all walks of life, all having fun together. There’s no particular reason for flying kites, though it is said to have been a sport very much enjoyed by kings and Nawabs in the past, it’s is a tradition that’s said to have been going on for centuries. The festival is part of the celebration of Uttarayan, which falls on the 14 th January every year, the day in the Hindu calendar when winter recedes and the summer begins, bringing with it a good, stiff kite flying breeze. Held annually in January, if you get practicing now, you might be ready for 2019! People come from all over the world to show off their flying skills and their kite creations, for a whole week of aerial acrobatics and a jolly good time! One of at least 200 festivals celebrated in Gujarat, the kite festival is one of the biggest – the 2018 celebrations are due to kick off any day, from the 7 th to the 14 th of January. Every year the skies above the Indian state of Gujarat become a playground of swooping, soaring, colourful kites as the International Kite Festival comes to town.
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