Kite Festival is a popular festival in India and it takes place during Makar Sankranti in the month of January. It is celebrated as Uttarayan in Western India. The festival is marked by people flying kites from their terraces and rooftops and kite flying competitions. Kite flying is a tradition that is deep-rooted in Indian culture and the Kite festival is one that is eagerly awaited. The festival gives onlookers an opportunity to look at kites of different shapes, sizes, and colours. It gives those who fly kites a great adrenaline rush. In Karnataka, various District administrations along with the Tourism Department organize the kite festival annually. Noteworthy are the Kite festivals organized at the main beach in Gokarna and Karwar. The focus is on improving infrastructure facilities for organizing international level Kite festivals at these venues.
Makar Sankranti, the Festival of Kites, is popularly known as Uttarayan. Uttarayan is a combination of two Sanskrit words, ‘uttar’ meaning north and ‘ayan’ meaning movement towards. Uttarayan occurs on Posh Vad Pancham and celebrates the sun’s northward movement. Since the northern direction is considered sacred, the time span in which the sun moves from one zodiac to another is considered auspicious. Dan, or the act of donating, is given great importance on this day. Hindus go to mandir and donate grains, other food items, money, and even vehicles and homes for punya. In the Swaminarayan Sampraday, devotees gather to where Pramukh Swami Maharaj is and offer their donations for the benefit of the local community. Pramukh Swami Maharaj asks for zoli as sadhus have for centuries, saying, “Swaminarayan Hare, Sachidanand Prabho!” Many BAPS mandirs around the world celebrate the kite festival as well. Watching families flying colorful kites together and rekindling the spirit of Indian culture is a heartwarming image.