Kites of different hues, shapes and sizes would adorn the Gujarat's sky next month to coincide with Gujarat's famous festival Uttarayan that heralds the advent of spring.Mr. Kamalesh Patel, Chairman of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited, and Mr. Vipul Mittra, Secretary Tourism, Government of Gujarat, were in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, as well as of UT administration, today to promote the five-day International Kite Festival that begins on 10th January next year. Addressing the media Mr. Patel said that 2010 is Gujarat's golden jubilee year and kite festival is the first major event of the new year planned by Gujarat Tourism.

This is the 20th international kite festival which is expected to attract kitists from 32 countries besides the kite enthusiasts from different states of the country, explained Mr. Vipul Mittra. Secretary Tourism Mr. Mittra said that it is for the first time that they have come to the north to invite the kite enthusiasts and the people of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to experience vibrant Gujarat and enjoy its hospitality. Kite flyers with unique kites can get in touch with us and we shall host them and provide to-and-fro free 2nd AC train fare, he said. The festival will feature aerial acrobats, kite painting competitions, kite making workshops, and an international kite flying competition, along the world-class newly developed Sabarmati river front in Ahmedabad, Mr. Mittra informed.

The festival is celebrated with great fervor and passion in which tourists from across the world join in the kite fights while enjoying the choicest Gujarati cuisines and with lots of traditional merchandise to take back home. Kite making, in itself, is a huge cottage industry that supports millions of households in Gujarat, as these traditional artists get busy preparing glue, special strings (manjha), finger covers, caps, sunglasses, kites, and other material for the kite enthusiasts.