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The
Unique Kite Festival
On
January 14, when Gujarat
celebrates Makar Sankranti to mark the last harvest of winter, Ahmedabad
hosts the International Kite Festival, the largest of its kind in the
world. For weeks in advance shops brim with a splendid assortment of kites
of strange and original designs, many painted with animals or the faces of
gods and heroes.
A Social Event
India has a long tradition of kite-flying, and during the festival the
city comes alive with diving and darting kites flitting through the clear
blue skies as families join with enthusiasts from all over Asia and as far
a field as America and Japan. On the first day of the festival, crowds of
kite-flyers gather in 'Patang Nagar', a "Kite Town" - usually in
the police stadium-to display models of all sizes, made of paper, cloth,
bamboo and fibreglass.
There's a carnival atmosphere, with food and crafts stalls and
performances of dance and music late into the night. On the second day you
can follow the experts to the city's roof terraces and learn to fly kites,
and after dark the night sky is ablaze with 'tukal' kites strung with
coloured lights.
Reach Out To The Skies
The
climax of the festival comes on the third day, when kite strings are
coated with a lethal mixture of ground glass, egg yolk and boiled rice,
and kites are played off against one another in fierce combat. Cries of "kata!"
fill the air as slashed kites fall stricken from the skies and come to
rest limping on telegraph wires and trees.
Navratri
The Navratri festival celebrations at Ahmedabad and Baroda are famous
throughout Gujarat
. Come October and there's just one feeling allover. There is a feeling of
joy & happiness. A time for dance and music when the young hearts
throb with excitement and energy.
The Night Is Young
Navratri
is celebrated for nine nights and reaches its finale on the Dussehra day.
During this period, young people in their best traditional dresses,
'chania choli' for girls and 'dhoti kurta' for boys, dance the traditional
Garbha
and the
Dandiya
Raas through the night for all the nine days of the
festival
.
Here the evenings and nights are occasions for the fascinating Garba
dance. The women dance around an earthen lamp while singing devotional
songs accompanied by rhythmic clapping of the hands.
Rath
Yatra
Similar
to the Rath Yatra of Jagannath Puri in Orissa, a Rath Yatra is carried out
in Ahmedabad as well. The procession starts in the morning from the
Jagdish Mandir situated in the Jamalpur area of the city. The chariots of
Krishna, Balram and Subhadra, adorned with garlands, are taken round the
city amidst much pomp and show.