International Kite Festival to kick start from 10th January 2010
Mr. Vipul Mittra, IAS, Secretary Tourism, Government of Gujarat and Shri Kamalesh Patel, Chairman, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited on the occasion of Gujarat’s golden jubilee year today announced the start of International Kite Festival (IKF), a five-day spectacle organized between January 10th -14th across Gujarat by Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited. This year the International Kite Festival would be held at three different places, 11th Jan at Ahmedabad and 13th Jan at Surat & Porbunder.
The forthcoming Uttarayan & International Kite festival are celebrated with a unique fervor and passion in Gujarat. The festival will feature aerial acrobats, kite painting, competitions and kite workshops. Besides, there would be pavilions for handicrafts, handlooms, food and other attractions.
The International Kite Competition would be also organized during the International Kite Festival along the newly developed Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. This year we are getting 105 foreign kite flyers from 34 countries, almost covering all continents and 120 from 9 states of India, Punjab/Chandigrah would be participating for the first time.
On this occasion Shri Kamalesh Patel, Chairman, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited said “We welcome the arrival of spring and harvest, Uttarayan is among the most celebrated festivals of Gujarat. It marks the end of a long winter with the return of the sun to the Northern Hemisphere”. He also added “We are making adequate arrangements to ensure safety of the visitors and the people of Gujarat which can help them enjoy the festival with passion and fervor”.
The dawn on Uttarayan is greeted with mirth, laughter and shouts from enthusiastic flyers. People throng to terraces and kites start pirouetting their way up into the skies. As the sun journeys higher, the dance of the kites metamorphoses into duels. Fighter kites enter the scene and soon fierce battles are waged to bring other kites down. The day is charged and anticipation over imminent victory or defeat runs high. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter who wins or who loses. The real fun is in partaking of this age-old tradition.
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Fairs and festivals are an integral part of State’s culture, and these fairs & festivals are marketed to attract tourists from world over. Uttarayan is celebrated with a unique fervor and passion in Gujarat. Apart from glue, finger covers, caps, sunglasses, Kite making and the strings or Manjha itself generate income for millions of houses in Gujarat.
In Gujarat, celebration means being grateful for a rich history, grand heritage, cherishing each moment in the present and be hopeful for a better future. Celebration is to enjoy an immense diversity and to value every mood and color of life. This is why in Gujarat, life is not just lived it is celebrated.
Overview on Gujarat State
Gujarat has immense potential to become a major tourist destination. Its historical monuments represent the great religions of Asia – Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Islamic, Parsee and Sikh.For eco-tourists, the state offers opportunities to see a wide range of wildlife including the Asiatic lion and Indian wild ass, endangered antelopes, a variety of deer, etc. It has India’s first marine national park. There are more than 400 archaeological sites in state including some of the most Culture substantial excavations of Indus Valley civilization period at Lothal (near Ahmedabad), Surkotada and Dholavira (in Kutch). The archaeological zone of Champaner - Pavagadh have been acclaimed by UNESCO as the “World Heritage Site” because of its great mosques, temples, stepwells and forts. The Wild Ass sanctuary, Dholavira Harappan City and Rani-Ki-Vav are in the process of getting status of the World Heritage site. Gujarat has many enchanting tourist places, memorable historic monuments and sacred pilgrimages, depicting the glorious cultural heritage, which can attract both Indian and international travellers. The state has important pilgrimage places like Dwarka, Somnath, Dakor, Ambaji, etc for Hindus, Udwada, Navsari and Surat for Parsees, Palitana, Girnar, etc for Jains. Medical tourism is seen as having a particularly high growth potential because of the availability of high-quality, low cost surgeries at Gujarat’s hospitals. The large population of people of Gujarati origin in America, Europe and Africa can be a major growth driver for this segment of tourism.