Kite enthusiasts fly kites in Patna to celebrate Makar Sankranti

It is Makar Sankranti and, on this occasion, kite enthusiasts from Patna assembled at the 62-acre venue of Gandhi Maidan for the festival. There were many middle-aged men, full of enthusiasm, who flew the kites while their families turned into supporters and spectators. Many of them had arrived in their cars, loaded with kites, manjha or thread sharpened with a concoction of powdered glass mixed in glue.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 15 January 2016.

The organizers had invited a team of three expert kite-fliers from Gujarat in order to introduce newbies to the colorful world of kites. Accordingly, the Vibrant Kite Club from Ahmadabad had brought with them 23 kites - right from plain ones to inflatable ones - of made of synthetic cloth.
The biggest one was designed as a komodo dragon and it was nearly 60ft long. Others were in shapes of the cobra, fish, Sponge Bob, tiger and other animals. Principles of aerodynamics are employed while making these kites and their costs span from a few thousand rupees to Rs 2 lakh.
Makar Sankranti is a big festival of Gijaratis but, the Gujarati team did not exhibit their costlier kites because the local fliers constantly maneuvered their kites to attack and cut them.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Devotees take holy dip in hot springs of Himachal Pradesh on Makar Sankranti

Devotees in Himachal Pradesh took dips in Satluj and Parvati rivers to mark 'Makar Sankranti' which is believed to be a holy day. The devotees went to Tattapani, 50-Km from the state capital, and Manikaran, home to a Sikh shrine in Kullu district, for their holy dips. Tattapani and Manikaran are well-known hot water springs with high sulphur concentration.
This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 14 January 2016.

The natural and prominent hot springs that were located along the Satluj in Tattapani had disappeared after the construction of the 800 MW Koldam hydroelectric power project that had been executed by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). Its reservoir has submerged the hot springs.
NTPC had constructed two artificial hot springs near Tattapani but these are are not functional so far. However, there are a few old ones but smaller in size in the town and the devotees go there to carryout the rituals. This year, in view of decline in the number of devotees, there was no official arrangement by the government. Earlier, Tattapani used to have more than 25,000 devotees offering prayers during a holy bath on Makar Sankranti at natural hot water springs there.
Anyway, the devotees took holy dip in Vashist temple on the left bank of Beas river, located on the outskirts of the popular tourist resort Manali. This temple is also known for its hot springs. Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival and also marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Makar sankranti - enthusiasts ignore rising cost of kites and manjha and prepare to celebrate

It is Makar Sankranti and, ignoring the soaring price of kites and manjha and the widespread awareness on the adverse effects of kite flying, there was a huge rush at Handipura, Haldiyon Ka Raasta and other major markets that sell kites in Jaipur.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 14 January 2016.

Since this year Makar Sankranti falls on a Friday followed by another government holiday on Saturday, kite lovers are making a beeline to the markets to select and purchase their lot of kites and manjhas disregarding the increase in prices of the basic items namely, the kites and manjhas. These are almost 30% higher compared to the last year.
Kites that used to sell for Rs 60 per 20 pieces are now selling at around Rs 100 per 20 pieces. The Manjhas or threads are available for Rs 600 per 6,000 metres to Rs 800 per 6,000 metres.
Many people have opted for a casual leave on Thursday to get a four-day Holiday to fly kites. It is like an addiction - to see the kites flying and tying to down kites of others. It makes fr a friendly competition. The local administration has issued deadlines fr kite flying - no flying of kites between 6 am to 8 am and after 5 pm.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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