Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Saturday said the two-day international kite festival being celebrated in Delhi on the occasion of ‘Makar Sankranti’ is also a “tribute to one of our prime deities”, Lord Ram. Lord Ram is said to have “flown kites in his childhood, along with his brothers,” Saxena said.

He was addressing a gathering at the opening ceremony of the ‘Patang Utsav’ being hosted at ‘Baansera’ -- a sustainability-themed bamboo park located at Sarai Kale Khan on the banks of the river Yamuna.

The festival, being organised by Delhi Development Authority (DDA), has major attractions including a theme pavilion, which displays “history of kites, in the form of a kite gallery showing use of kites during times of war, fighter kites, and the significance of kites in India,” according to officials. The ‘Patang Utsav’ was inaugurated a day ahead of the ‘Makar Sankranti’ festival.

With more than 30 professional kitists from different states participating, the Kite festival, , also has attractions like a theme pavilion displaying the history of kites in the form of kite gallery, a classical Patang Bazaar for people to buy and fly kites and traditional food and handicrafts stalls. Besides, cultural performances by folk artists showcasing India’s cultural diversity and exclusive activities have been planned for kids in the form of a kids zone.

“We are celebrating today an international kite festival at a place that was reclaimed, rejuvenated and regenerated. This used to be a garbage dump of Delhi’s construction and demolition waste. What you see now is a beautiful abode of bamboos,” Saxena said.

He added that celebrating this kite festival on the occasion of ‘Makar Sankranti’ is “also a tribute to one of our prime deities, Lord Shri Ram, who is said to have flown kites in his childhood, along with his brothers”. The Delhi Lt Governor also quoted a couplet from a scripture.

As a nation that possibly provided the world with its “fullest experience” in flying by human endeavours, this kite festival prevalent across the globe for centuries now, wouldn’t have been more appropriate as “a symbol of basic human endeavour of soaring and breaking free,” he said.

“This bamboo park, ‘Baansera’, is a tribute to that human endeavour. It aims at providing people of Delhi the much-needed public spaces in the capital on one hand, and on the other ensure that the rich biodiversity of the floodplains is preserved and maintained,” Saxena said.

To enhance the ecological character of the Yamuna floodplains and make it more people-friendly by developing it as a recreational and cultural venue, Saxena had laid the foundation of ‘Baansera’ in August 2022 and it was developed in six months. More than 25,000 special varieties of Bamboo saplings brought from Assam were planted here.

A classic ‘Patang Bazaar’ is also operational here for people to buy and fly kites and embrace Delhi’s skies with a “riot of colours”, Saxena, also the chairman of the DDA, said on Saturday. “Besides, traditional food and handicraft stalls have also been set up for public, along with cultural performances by folk artistes to showcase our diversity. I assure you that many such events will be planned in the future to promote ease of living for the people of Delhi,” he added.

On the occasion, the Lt Governor also unveiled the 2024 calendar published by the DDA. It contains images of various monuments and other public spaces in Delhi.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs & Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi, Members of Parliament, Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Gautam Gambhir, MLA  O P Sharma, Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora were present on the occasion. Besides, foreign envoys and diplomats from countries like Seychelles, Mongolia, Mali, Burundi, Bolivia, Niger, Austria, Maldives, Libya and Peru also participated in the festival.

The 2-day festival will see over 30 professional kitists from Rajasthan, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Lakshadweep and Gujarat exhibiting their art. Kites of various shapes, sizes and colours, including tricolour, train and eagle will fly during the festival.