Sankranti 2023: Hyd Gujaratis get ready to celebrate Kite Festival after 2 years of Covid

Hyderabad: There would be no Sankranti without flying kites. It is this activity that makes the festival entertaining. Hyderabad, a city of cultural diversity, celebrates the annual kite festival in a grand way.

Gujarat has the biggest kite festival in the country. In Hyderabad, every year, the Gujarati community comes together to fly kites in various parts of the city. A few of them even fly kites at the festival held in Parade Grounds while most of them come together at one of their community member's houses to fly kites and enjoy some mouth-watering traditional Gujarati delicacies.

In 2021 and 2022, due to Covid-19, the Kite Festival could not be organized, but now that things are back to normal, Gujaratis in the city are all geared up to celebrate Sankranti.

Ghanshyam K. Patel, a member of the Cyberabad Gujarati Samithi Association, is a pakka Gujarati who settled in Hyderabad almost 35 years ago. His family will get together with other members of the community to celebrate Sankranti. "Sankranti is one of the most celebrated festivals among the members of the Gujarati community. The festival is finally here after two years of Covid restrictions and we are ready to hit the terraces of our buildings and enjoy the festival," he said.

When asked about the Kite Festival, he said, "We are very excited about organising the Kite Festival. We are yet to finalise a lot of things but are inclined towards conducting it. For the last two years, our community members have been gathering at one of the member's houses and flying kites on their terrace. This time, we are looking for something big."

When asked about how many members are taking part in it, he said most of the Gujaratis already flew to Gujarat because the kite festival there is grand.

Good food, Good times

The four-day-long festival of kites sees the city in a festive spirit with everyone ready to fly their kites or cheer their fellow kite flyers. Every part of the city radiates with fun and entertainment during the Kite Festival. With kites of various colours, sizes, and shapes, the festival makes for a beautiful sight with a blue sky dotted with colours.

Bina Mehta, a traditional dancer and a pakka Gujarati by heart, celebrates the festival with her family members where flying a kite is a must. "We go to our relative's house in Kacheguda. On their terrace, we, and other Gujaratis staying close by, come together, fly kites, cook good food, and have lots of fun. We make sure we go there so that we get to meet people from our community and enjoy the vibes of the festive season our way," she said.

She added, "We have competitions among ourselves for flying kites and that is a lot of fun to watch. We missed such moments during the Covid pandemic and are looking forward to enjoying it to the fullest this time." Murali Patel, a Gujarati businessman in Hyderabad, said, "We are celebrating it after two years. That itself gives us a high. We are not much interested in going to public places this time but plan to organize kite-flying competitions with people from our community on the outskirts of the city."