Brighton, January 12: “Desi Jashn” in a foreign land – is how the team of Indian Cultural Association described the buoyant and spirited kite flying festival.
Possibly the first and the biggest kite flying festival ever held in Melbourne, the multicultural community event helped to “connect with our roots and quintessentially deliver a platform to bring all cultures together,” said Maushmi Parikh, organiser of the festival at Dendy Park in Brighton’s east, on Sunday last.
The whole day festivities included visits by Tim Wilson, federal member for Goldstein and James Newbury local member for Brighton in Victoria.
Apart from dignitaries, the day included fun and festivities for families and children, with DJ playing all day, variety of food stalls and entertainment for all age groups.
Batman, Lion, Minions, Butterflies, USAF rockets, Chinese Dragon, Smiley, giant fish, Octopus and their many other friends flew high and dominated the sky over Brighton East Showground.
The event was “supported by Bayside city council and Local Federal MP,” according to Ms Parikh.
Talking to Bharat Times, Dhara Modi of Indian Cultural Association said that the mission of the group is “to keep the Indian community in Australia connected on one platform”.
Noteworthy, kite flying on Makar Sankranti is celebrated across India amongst all Hindus irrespective of their region or languages spoken. Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Bihu, Lohri – are different regional names to the same festival marking the commencement of the Sun’s journey to the northern hemisphere, a celebration of a cosmic event in human life.
Traditionally in India, it is the beginning of the harvest season and the day is celebrated amid lots of fanfare and enthusiastic kite flying.
A national festival of India, the festival can go for ten days with feasting, boat races, songs and dance as the major activities. It is celebrated with the til (sesame seeds) ke laddoo, gajak, Rewri and sarson ka saag-makka ki roti.
The sky was a riot of colours as people celebrate by flying kites. The kite festival of Jaipur is very popular and attracts people from all over India.
All over India the festival is celebrated with much joy with different rituals but same spirit. People begin this auspicious day with holy dips in water and by worshiping the Sun.
RV
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