Basant festival Brings Colors of Happiness
As the fields of mustard crop and the Amaltas trees start taking a yellow hue; as the chilly winds get replaced by cool breeze, the sky in northern India suddenly witnesses an eruption of colour. The scene is magical—hundreds of four-sided blocks of fields in all possible colours, shapes and sizes, dancing against a blue backdrop! This is the onset of the spring season or “Basant”, which heralds hope. And what better way to welcome the season of colour than by flying kites?
Traditionally, the 5th of the lunar month of Magha (which falls between mid-January to mid-February) is celebrated as Basant Panchmi. The day is especially popular in north-west part of the Indian sub-continent and areas now falling into East and West Punjab . Suddenly, the rooftops in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Lahore in Pakistan come alive with people of all age groups, their eyes and necks angled skywards.
