The Tradition Of Kite Festival

The tradition of flying kites in India and abroad is quite ancient. From the very beginning human,  looking at the birds flying in the sky, had imagination of flying himself. There are many traditions in countries around the world for kite flying.

According to Greek historians, kite flying is 2500 years old. History of kite flying in China has been considered two thousand years old . China's general Han Xin made kites of several colors and sent flying kites message to his troops. The world's historians consider the birth of kites was in China.
             

In India, in the Indus culture between 2750 and 3500 BC we can find pictures and hieroglyphs of kites. Development of kites started in Europe and also in countries like USA, England, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Australia etc. and production of kites began rapidly. People started flying kites in the form of garuda, snake, parrot, fish, crocodiles,etc. 

Makar Sankranti is celebrated in many parts of  India . It is a folk festival. Now a days nylon, polythene, plastics etc. are also used to make kites along with the paper, wicker and fabrics, Kite thread is layered with glass, glue, paint, etc. Bareilly, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gwalior, etc. are very famous manufacturers of kite thread. Thread of Rajasthan is also famous.

In States like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, a special time is fixed for kite flying. Kites are known by different names in different regions. Jaipur city is famous for kite flying not only in India but also in the whole world. It's very beautiful to look at the sky on the day of Makar Sankranti. Different kite flying experts from various countries visit the kite festival of Rajasthan. Since decades the International Kite Festival is celebrated every year in Jaipur  and Pushkar.

There is a passion for kite flying and the childrens, old,and young celebrate this festival equally.
The festival is not complete without the cheerful shoutings like "wo kata", "wo mara", to express the express the joy.