The Kite Festival in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Why you can't miss it!
The Kite Festival in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Why you can't miss it!
Merchants have been selling all sorts of colorful patangs (kites) and spools of metallic string all around Jaipur's bazaars for the past few weeks. Some of the kites even depict personalities like Narendra Modi along with Amitab Bachchan or other famous actors, creativity is at its peak...!
Children have been flying kites regularly, training for the big day...Undoubtedly, Makar Sankranti, the annual kite festival is coming up!
As you may know festivals ponctuate Indian society throughout the whole year: Diwali, Holi, Gangaur, Teej, etc...Held every year here in India on Jan. 14. Makar Sankranti is one of the most popular one. It has an astrological significance, the movement of the Sun from one zodiac sign into another is called Sankranti and as the Sun moves into the Capricorn zodiac known as Makara in Sanskrit.
Makar Sankranti is a government holiday in Jaipur, and it undoubtedly increases the pleasure of the festivities. Shops and schools are shut, and families gather on their roofs and terraces at dawn. It looks like the whole city is on the rooftops, eyes staring at the sky filled with kites. Relatives and friends come to visit throughout the day and women pass around to offer the sweets they have prepared the day before, like til ke ladoo, a special sweet made with sesame seed, jaggery and ghee.
Flying patang is not simply flying kites, it is more complex...
The goal is to “cut” your neighbors’ kites by getting as close as you can the sharp-edged kite string against the victim’s string and saw it very quickly. Cheers are heard as successful kite flyers defeat adversaries.
Catching cut kites flying down is also part of the game, people use long sticks to capture them and fix them up, reattach to new spools of string and relaunch in the sky.
Music, dancing, colorful lights, delights and fireworks complete the celebration in traditional Bollywood style, and Makar Sankranti finishes with excited winners and undiscouraged losers overthinking their strategies to compete again the next year.
Cycle with us at dawn until a tipycal Indian home in the middle of the city and enjoy the festival on a rooftop with the family. Learn how to prepare and fly your kite with the children, pick up how to cut neighbor's kites and discover with us this beloved festival by enjoying simple pleasures like a local!
http://www.cyclinjaipur.com/
