Sankranti, the colourful Hindu festival is celebrated with much joy and gaiety across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. During the festival, Sankranti, most of us might have experienced the joy of flying the kites and watching kites soaring in the sky. Kite festivals are celebrated in various parts of India during Sankranti. People from various parts of the country participate in the kite festivals and enjoy kite flying.

History of Kite Flying:
The first written account of kite flying mentions that Heuin Tsanga had flown a kite to overawe the army of Liu Pang in 206 BC. Some sources say that kite flying was in place under the Han dynasty. The earliest written accounts of the kite can be found in the thirteenth-century poetry of ancient Indian literature. Kites were made from paper.

Marathi poets such as Dasopant and Ekanatha, both of them also mentioned about kites in their poems and they called it as vavadi. Tulasidas also mentioned about kites in his epic poem, Ramcharitamanas and he called the kite as Chagg.

Kite flying, a seasonal activity that will be carried during the festivals such as Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti and in the Punjab region on Basant Panchami and Baisakhi.

Sankranti is also called as Uttarayan and it is celebrated in Gujarat, Telangana and Rajasthan. International kite festival is hosted in Ahmedabad and the city is often called as the 'Kite capital of Gujarat'. Sabarmati river front is one of the best places to enjoy the festival, Uttarayan. People start kite flying at 5 am in the morning.

In Telangana, the International Kite festival takes place every year on the 13th, 14th and 15th of January at the Parade Grounds in Hyderabad. Pataang Bazaar is one of the most popular places in Hyderabad and during the festival week, markets are flooded with kite sellers. There are different types of kites and in the kite festival one could get a chance to witness different types of beautiful and elegant kites.