Colourful kites of different sizes, patterns and myriad colours dotted the Hubballi sky as the two-day international kite festival began at the open space adjacent to Oxford College on Kusugal Road in Hubballi.
The kite festival, which has a mix of various other events aimed to attract students and elders alike, was inaugurated jointly by Pralhad Joshi, MP, and Pradeep Shettar, MLC, after which kite flyers from 10 countries apart from India took over. Kshamata Samsthe, founded by Mr. Joshi, has organised the event in association with GAIL India, Oil India, State Bank of India, and Sri Krishna Dairy.
During the inauguration, Mr. Joshi announced that the idea was to develop ‘Brand Hubballi-Dharwad’ through kite festival. In the coming days, different programmes would be held to portray the rich cultural heritage of the twin cities, he said. The festival also paid tribute to Siddaganga seer Shivakumara Swami. Kite flyer from Bengaluru V.K. Rao and his team flew a big kite with the portrait of the seer on it.
Subsequently, as the wind favoured them, various kite flyers started flying their kites allowing them to soar high and manoeuvred them skilfully drawing applause from the crowd.
Kites with portraits of Mahatma Gandhi, Shivaji Maharaj, Tom and Jerry, and those with different artworks enthralled the visitors. Several youngsters tried their hands at kite flying and several others took part in fun games.
Later in the evening, music programmes were held with hundreds witnessing the event. It was followed by flying of kites with LED illumination after sunset. The kite festival will conclude on Friday evening.