The Ritual

Bordered by five rivers, the northern part of the sub-continent has always been considered the food bowl for the region and it is little wonder that the most significant festivals have evolved around the arrival of the harvesting season. Though originating from different cultural and religious backgrounds, the festivals of Vasant Panchami , Jashn-e- Baharan and Basant, all celebrate the softening of weather, the departure of winter and the coming of spring, a time when the wheat crops are ready for harvest and when the mustard fields are yellow and in full bloom.

Vasant Panchami is the Hindu festival that highlights the coming of spring. In Sanskrit ‘Vasant’ means spring and ‘Panchami’ is the fifth day of the waxing moon in the Hindu calendar month of Magh (according to the Gregorian calendar this day falls somewhere in the months of February or March). The day is celebrated to venerate goddess Saraswati, who is considered as the symbol of wisdom, education and learning.

Jashn-e-Baharan is a pre-Islamic festival that marks the coming of spring season. The arrival of spring is an important event for the farmers and was welcomed with the celebration, hence the name ‘Jashn’ (celebration) ‘Baharan’(spring).

The story of ‘Basant’ is linked with Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, who is considered one of the most prominent Sufi saints in south–east Asia. Hazrat Nizamuddindid did not have any children of his own and therefore his nephew became the focus of all his paternal feelings. Unfortunately, the young boy died in his early teens. The Sufi saint was so aggrieved and depressed by the sudden and untimely death of his beloved nephew that he stopped talking and withdrew himself from all worldly affairs. His disciples were worried about his conditions and tried to reason with him and cheer him up but without success.

Legend has it, that one of his disciples Amir Khusro, one day saw some young women dressed in yellow clothes adorned with garlands of marigold flowers going to their temple to celebrate spring festival with a lot of singing, fun and gaiety. Inspired by this event, Khusro’s dressed up as a woman in yellow ‘ghaagra choli’ (Indian skirt) and white striped ‘chunni’ (large scarf) and towards his master’s room with a number of other disciples and devotees who played and dance and sang ““Aaj Basant ManaaleySuhagan…Aaj Basant ManaaleySuhagan” a poem Amir Khusro composed for the occasion.

Seeing this spectacle and knowing that it was Khusrowho was wearing the woman’s dress, singing and dancing, Hazrat Nizamuddin started smiling and the spell of gloom was lifted and the whole congregation started to rejoice. The saint came out of his depression, and ‘Basant’ together with song, dance, dress and other rituals got established as an annual festival in Delhi to mark this incident. From the Sufi perspective, Basant not only heralds the coming of spring but highlights the cyclic nature of life itself; the proverbial ‘doom and gloom’ of winter being followed by bright sunny days’ or the awakening and resurrection of life.

Though the rites and rituals have evolved, Basant has been part of the sub-continents cultural fabric for over eight centuries. The relatively recent (16th century) addition to the celebration has been the inclusion of flying kites. Over the years, kite flying has taken prominence and now it is an intrinsic and arguably the most celebrated part of the festivities.

Kites in India

How and when the first kite took flight is not known, however the consensus is that kites were invented by the Chinese around two thousand years ago and eventually the sport of kite flying spread through traders from China to Korea, and across Asia to India. 

The tradition of ‘Patang Baazi’ (kite flying) in India was started by the Mughals around 16th century as a pastime for the royalty; however, the sport gained popularity in the masses as the manufacturing of kites become common.  Some Mughal miniature paintings even suggests that some enterprising young man of the time also used the kites to skillfully drop epistles to their lover who were restricted from meeting them in accordance with the social norms of the day.

Paper, Bamboo sticks and Twine

The traditional kite design is based on a cross made of two thin bamboo sticks placed over each other and tied with thread. A special light weight paper is then pasted on top of this thin structure of the kite.  This paper can be of one color or could have a multi-colored design. Typically, these patterns are created by pasting panels of different colored paper together in intricate designs which have evolved by the generations of kite makers. The twine used for kite flying is known as ‘dor’. At times the ‘dor’ is coated with a special paste made of ground glass powder and gum to provide a cutting edge and sharpness.

Although the kites come in various shapes, the Rhombus shaped (Gudda, Guddi) and curvilinear shaped (Patang , Kup) kites are more popular. The author Pran Nevile in his book “Lahore: A Sentimental Journey”, writes “Made of colored paper and fine bamboo, our kites were as attractive as huge butterflies and almost as light. There was a large variety of colors, shapes and designs, with its own appellation. We had guddis, peris, guddas, Lucknow kats, patangs, teerahs, kups, etc. The guddis had a small paper tassel at the bottom while the male version, the gudda, had a patta, a triangle cut out of paper in place of the tassel.”

Battle of Threads

While kite fighting (paicha) is not as sensational as the dynastic struggles among the noble families of Westeros and Essos in the TV drama ‘Game of Thrones’, there are a number of intricacies and subtlety involved in the sport. During the battle of threads, opponents try their best to cut their opponents kite by entangling the strings with each other’s kite. Kite pressure, sharpness of the string, angle of entanglement and more importantly the skill and experience of the kite-fighter all play an important role in the battle’s outcome.

Basant Central

The cities of Lahore in Pakistan and Amritsar across the border in India are considered Basant Centrals for the region. In Lahore, Basant with its tradition of kite flying is celebrated with much vigor and enthusiasm then any place else in the world. Lahorites and people from surrounding communities farewell the doom and gloom of winter fogs and frost and welcome the coming of spring by adorning yellow colored dresses, organising rooftop soirees, garden parties and festivals. Night and day time kite flying and kite fighting competitions are organised all over the city and young, old, rich and poor all participate. Like any other festival in Lahore, food is a special part of the Basant festival; special dishes such as ‘Haleem’, ‘Gajrella’, ‘Pathurey’, Barbeques, and Kashmiri Chai are considered essential part of the festivities.

A bridge between nations

In this artwork I have attempted to showcase the spirit of Basant which is a secular festival and celebrated throughout the sub-continent to herald the coming of spring season. The Kites represent the colorfulness and diversity of emotions of the kite flyers that control their flights and the variety of people and countries in the region that celebrate Basant.  I have painted some of the kites in colors of national flags to further emphasize this element. The entangling lines not only represent string attached to the kites but showcase the festival ethos around love, equality and common heritage.

The various historical and religious connections to the spring festivities are represented by silhouettes images of mosque, Hindu and Sikh temples, and the key centers of Basant festivals Lahore and Amritsar are acknowledged by Minar-e-Pakistan, Badshahi mosque, Gurudwara Baba Atal Rai and Jallianwala Bagh memorial.

The carnival atmosphere is showcased by the images of drum beater, man, women and kids flying kites wearing yellow dresses which is considered to be the color of Basant.

And lastly, the brightly colored graphics at the bottom, forms a border and establishes the narrative around Basant and kites.