Makar Sankranti, which falls in mid January, is celebrated in several ways across apartment complex communities in India. Essentially a harvest festival, it is known as Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Sankranti in Karnataka and Uttarayan in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Makar Sankranti celebrates the arrival of warmer days after a cold and dark winter. It is also supposed to be the day when the Gods awake from a long six-month long slumber. Gujaratis and Rajasthanis celebrate the arrival of the warmer days with a colorful kite flying festival.

Given that Makar Sankranti is celebrated in some form or the other all across India, it is a good idea to celebrate it in your apartment complex, and a kite flying festival is the best way to ensure that people from all age groups join enthusiastically in the celebrations. After all, who can resist flying a colorful kite?

Celebrating the Kite Festival in Your Apartment Complex

(i) A Day Long Affair: The kite flying festival can be converted into a day-long affair where residents of the complex mingle and socialize with each other. The day can be divided into three sessions – the morning kite flying session, a community lunch and then the night time kite flying session.  However, before organizing the festival, ensure that participation is high by giving people sufficient notice. Chalk out the program details well in advance and circulate it among the residents.

(ii) Buying The Kites: Your housing society can also look into placing bulk orders for the kites. It may be difficult for the busy residents to spare time to go shopping for kites. Senior, retired residents of the apartment complex can be given the responsibility of selecting and placing bulk orders for kites. This will make life easier for the busier residents and will ensure greater participation. Senior residents will also enjoy the responsibility. A donation drive can be launched well in advance in order to raise funds to buy the kites. Be sure to order the famous ‘lantern kites’ for the night session.

(iii) Kite Flying Competitions: Each kite flying session can be divided into two parts. The first part can be non-competitive, where residents fly kites for the sheer joy of seeing the sky fill up with a colorful collection of kites. After this, you can get started on the serious business of competitive kite flying, Arrange the residents into teams and have a faceoff between them.

(iv) A Community Lunch: Once the morning kite flying session is completed, most people will be ready for a hearty lunch. Given the occasion, it makes sense to have a traditional spread. Food is a major part of the Makar Sankranti celebrations and it would be ideal to have a dish from each part of the country.

(v) The Lantern Kites: The session at night where the glow of the lantern kites lights up the sky will be a fitting finale to the day.

Celebrating the kite festival in the apartment complex is a good way to de-stress and to make children understand our customs and traditions.

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