Ahmedabad: People gathered on rooftops, terraces and open grounds across Gujarat on Saturday to fly kites as they celebrated the Uttarayan festival with great fervour. Union minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also joined in the festivities with their families. The skies teemed with kites of all colours and shapes while music and delicacies such as fafda-jalebi, undhiyu and chikki added to the fun. It was after a gap of two years that the festival was celebrated without the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.


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Senior BJP leader and Union minister Amit Shah celebrated the festival with his family, friends and party leaders in Vejalpur locality of Ahmedabad. 




He began the day by offering prayers at the Jagannath temple here with his family members.


Later, he and his wife visited a residential society in Vejalpur where they flew kites on the terrace of a building with local BJP leaders and supporters by their side.



"Best wishes to all of you. May this festival of kites bring joy, excitement and enthusiasm in our lives, wish all of you stay healthy," Modi said in his message in Gujarati on his Twitter handle.


"Best wishes to everyone on the auspicious festival of Uttarayan. May Lord Surya Narayan bring happiness, peace and prosperity in everyone's life," Shah tweeted.


While in the walled city area of Ahmedabad people gathered on rooftops, people in the western part of the city rented terraces in the Old City to celebrate the festival.


"The wind speed is excellent, and we are very happy and enjoying the day," said a reveller.


"There is not much wind, but we hope it will get better," said a man in Rajkot.