In CIIE’s latest endeavour to create a fun work environment, we celebrated the first of many festivals of 2014 together as a team.
Uttarayan, Gujarat’s annual kite flying festival is celebrated every year on January 14 — this date marks the end of winter and the return of a more suitable weather for the farmers of Gujarat.
We celebrated the festival with kites, tukkals and lanterns, laughter and mockery, kite flying “training” and lots of food — (try the sev khamani the next time you’re in Gujarat- it’s delicious, with the perfect balance of ‘khatta-meetha’).
One of our colleagues (name withheld upon request) was so enthusiastic about lighting the lanterns that he nearly missed his flight out of Ahmedabad for his meeting the next day!
Some tips that we’d like to pass on from our little kite flying experience:
> Don’t pull the kite string if the kite is facing downwards
> You can get cut with the kite string- take precaution!
> Sev Khamani is awesome
> Keep a spare box of match sticks ready when the intention is to light lanterns, else you’ll spend a greater part of time looking for a matchbox and end up missing your flight!
