International Kite Festival - Soaring up the Hyderabad skies


When Makar Sankranti was nearing, a friend of mine told to me, there will be kites flying everywhere in the city.. I brushed off the fact saying, Hyderabad people are too busy with their lives, they won't be having time to celebrate all these. 
On the festival day, Telangana Tourism has made arrangements for an International Kite Festival in the Parade grounds, near to Secunderabad. I didn't want to miss something which was of international stature.  

And the day came. I was off to the venue where kite festival is organized in the newly opened Hyderabad Metro.

My friend was rightly said. I was surprised by the number of the kites soaring up in the sky. It was beyond my expectations. As I was travelling in the metro, which goes through above the city, could see the thickly populated buildings filled with people flying kites and some in kite preparation. Almost all rooftops were filled with people with their family and friends. Everyone inside the house was on the terrace, literally. I got the view because of the Hyderabad Metro. Thanks to that..


Enjoying the celebrative mood around, I reached the venue. The ground was crowded with people. Though the competitors had a special area which was restricted to the public from entering, separated by small gates, outside the area anyone can fly kites. Many people were engaged in flying their own kites rather than watching the big kites.


I have earlier witnessed kite festival in a beach in Goa. There had the best condition for the kites to fly. But here, unfortunately, the wind was not that expected. Though some were flying the kites with ease, some were trying really hard to make their kites fly.
She was trying to raise her kite up
You all will be knowing about Makar Sankranti. This Indian festival is celebrated in different names across the country as  Sankranti in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Lohri in Punjab, Pongal in Tamil Nadu and so on. It marks the end of the winter season and starting of spring, welcoming longer days For this festival, people make rangolis and special sweets. Also, there is famous Jallikattu, which is a traditional bull taming sport, practised in Tamil Nadu during the festival time. Hope to witness it one day.


There were kites of different shapes, colours and sizes for the fest. All of them were trying to make their kite reach high above, without harming any other kites. But in outside, the context will be different. It will be an aerial battle between the kites. The threads called Manjha, which they tie to kites will be coated with glass powder which makes them sharper for cutting other kites. The one who is saved from getting cut, while cutting others and flying to the topmost will be the unannounced winner of the day.

Kite Festival Scenes
International Kite festival was organized along with the Indian sweets festival. But by the time when we went to the stalls, all counters were emptied, though we could taste a bit of an Assamese sweet. So one who wants to savour the delicious sweets across India, can visit a little early. There was also night kite fest, where the kites were decorated with led lights.

In addition to all these, there were stage performances of different states arranged. I was privileged to see Telangana folklore arts like Oggukatha and Pulikali(Tiger dance or Tiger play).

Oggu Katha
I was thinking Pulikali, a folk art form was prevalent only in Kerala. But I was wrong. Its here in Telangana too. 

Puli Kali
Moreover there were performances of Kathak, Bengali dance, Marathi dance and much more. 

Kathak

A dance performance of West Bengal
Efforts of  Telangana Tourism for arranging a beautiful event like this is to be appreciated. Why go other states if you can get everything here 😉.  

Looking forward for such events in future..
  
Been to a kite festival anywhere?? I'd love to hear about it.. If you know other better places nearby to celebrate Makarsankranti festival, share with us..

Will be waiting for your comments and suggestions..


Want to know more about Oggu Katha and watch the performance..

Oggu Katha - A Traditional Telangana Folk Art


Also read:

Oggu Katha - A Traditional Telangana Folk Art 

Thank you for reading..😃 

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday & Skywatch Friday

 

9 comments:

  1. I've never been to a kite festival. The one you attended looks like a lot of fun and it's nice to see so many people participate!

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  2. Thankyou for reading.. Yes, It was indeed spectacular, with all the kites flying up, and the cultural festivals that followed..

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  3. I have never been to India, but would love to travel there and explore the culture. Thanks for sharing ♥️ ♥️ By any chance you are interested on doing collaborations, you can check out the collaborations portal of Phlanx.com and connect with amazing brands!

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    Tiffany

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More of India coming soon.. I wish you to make your dreams of travelling to India come true.. Thanks for reading..

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  4. How fabulous - such happy kite skies!

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  5. Wonderful post! I never knew that kite festivals were held in Hyderabad. I might visit there next year since I am already participating in International kite festival 2020 Jaipur .I hope to have a great time over there.

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