Colourful kite festival concludes in Delhi

The two-day event attracted over 40,000 enthusiasts from across the country

Colourful kite festival concludes in Delhi

The two-day event attracted over 40,000 enthusiasts from across the country

People who got mesmerised with kite flying after reading 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini had an opportunity to experience the real thing here in the Capital itself. A two-day kite-flying festival, organised for the first time at India Gate, attracted huge crowds from all over the country. The festival, organised by Delhi Tourism in association with Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation Limited and Department of Art and Culture Government of Delhi, concluded on Sunday.

Multi-coloured spindles hang on a tree as part of decoration for the
event organised by Delhi Tourism, in Delhi on Sunday.
Pics/Imtiyaz Khan

Over 40,000 people, in 32 teams, came from states of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat. The festival saw a lot of flying enthusiasts trying their hand on some of the rare kites available. A string with 100 kites was one of the main attractions. Also, there was a 20-ft kite from Jodhpur with a 40-metre tail and an intricately designed Ganesha. There were others seen spreading awareness messages such 'Save Environment' and 'Say No to Crackers'.

A woman enjoys kite flying at the festival

From far and wide
Raju Khurana (28), who came all the way from Kanpur to take part in the festival, purchased kites worth Rs 10,000. He said, "I love flying kites. It was an interesting experience for all of us. We sold all the kites we won."

There were stalls displaying kites of different sizes, from one square inch to 70 square inches, made of tissue paper, elastic paper, bamboo, cloth, and colourful spindles suspended from tree branches.
The festival was inaugurated on Saturday by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who declared the festival open by symbolically flying a string of colourful kites.