International Kite Festival in Gujarat – Uttarayan

International kites Festival Makar Sankranti
Manja (the thread with which the kite is flown) Maker in a kite market, 13 January 2007
Genre	kites
Dates	14 January every year
Frequency	Annually
Location(s)	Gujarat, India
Years active	1989— present
Website
www.gujarattourism.com

Every year, Gujarat celebrates more than 200 festivals. The International Kite Festival (Uttarayan) is regarded as one of the biggest festivals celebrated. Months before the festival, homes in Gujarat begin to manufacture kites for the festival.

The festival of Uttarayan marks the day when winter begins to turn into summer, according to the Indian calendar. It is the sign for farmers that the sun is back and that harvest season is approaching which is called Makara Sankranti. This day is considered to be one of the most important harvest day in India. Many cities in Gujarat organize kite competition between their citizens where the people all compete with each other. In this region of Gujarat and many other states, Uttarayan is such a huge celebration that it has become a public holiday in India for two days. During the festival, local food such as Undhiyu (a mixed vegetable including yam and beans), sesame seed brittle and Jalebi is served to the crowds. Days before the festival, the market is filled with participants buying their supplies. In 2012, the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat mentioned that the International Kite Festival in Gujarat was attempting to enter the Guinness World Records book due to the participation of 42 countries in it that year.

The International Kite Festival takes place in Gujarat India. The festival is called Uttarayan. The festival is celebrated in many cities of Gujarat, Telangana and Rajasthan like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Udaipur,Jodhpur, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Hyderabad, Nadiad. However, the International Kite Event takes place in Ahmedabad (Kite capital of Gujarat) which accommodates visitors from many international destinations.

The best place to enjoy this festival is the Sabarmati Riverfront (its sabarmati river bank with capacity of over 500,000 people) or the Ahmedabad Police Stadium, where people lay down to see the sky filled with thousands of kites