Kite Festival Comes To Maharashtra

Giving a boost to the agri-tourism and trying to take advantage of the experiences elsewhere, the state is to emulate the Kite Festival way. For the first time ever, a Kite Festival will take place next month thanks to Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), the cultural department of the state and Agri Tourism Development Company (ATDC) at Baramati.

The kite festivals are organised in states like Gujarat and Kerala and it has brought windfall for those states. Taking a cue from those experiences, the same festival is to take place at Baramati from August 15 to 20. Pandurang Taware, CEO of ATDC, said, “The timing of the festival here will be different because traditionally the kites are flew in this season in Maharashtra. During the month of Shravan, an important festival of farmers Bail Pola takes place which is when kites are in vogue.”

In Gujarat and other northern states, the kite festivals takes place in January around the Makar Sankranti time. In Maharashtra, Bail Pola is celebrated on the new moon day (Amavasya) of the month of Shravan to pay respect to bulls. On this day, the farmers take out their bulls to the river and clean them after which they are decorated and moved around in procession. Villages have fairs and cometitions on the occasion.

“That is why we have organised the kite making competition. Along with it, the people will be encouraged to fly Vavadi, a variant of the kites. The event was organised on small level last year but it has been given the official status this year only,” said Taware.