West IndiaCommunity FestivalSuryaGujarati · Gujarat
Uttarayan is Gujarat's exuberant celebration of Makar Sankranti, when the whole state takes to its rooftops to fly kites as the sun turns northward. It falls in mid-January each year, with the skies over Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara filled with paper kites from dawn to dusk.
When: Makar Sankranti — the sun's entry into Makara (Capricorn), mid-January; the following day is kept as Vasi Uttarayan
Where: All of Gujarat, most intensely the rooftops of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot
Deity: Surya, the sun, honoured at his northward turning; a favoured day for daan (charitable giving)
Observance: Dawn-to-dusk kite flying, sesame sweets and undhiyu, holy bathing and charity as on Makar Sankranti everywhere
Regional name: Uttarayan (Gujarati) — from the Sanskrit uttarayana, the sun's northern course
The sun turns north
Uttarayan is Gujarat's name for Makar Sankranti, the solar festival marking the sun's entry into the sign of Makara and the traditional beginning of its northward course. In the wider Hindu reckoning the uttarayana half-year is the auspicious, 'bright' season of the gods — the Mahabharata tells that Bhishma, lying on his bed of arrows, waited for this turning before giving up his body. As everywhere in India, the day calls for early bathing, worship of Surya, and generous daan of sesame, jaggery and grain. What Gujarat added is the sky. Kite flying on this day grew over centuries from a courtly pastime into a festival of the whole people, and today the kite is inseparable from the religious day itself: an offering of joy flown up toward the strengthening sun.
A state on its rooftops
Preparation starts weeks ahead, with bazaars such as Ahmedabad's Patang Bazaar in Raipur trading kites and spools through the night. On the morning of Uttarayan whole families climb to their terraces with stacks of paper patang, firki spools, sunglasses and music, and the day passes in friendly aerial combat — cutting rival lines to roars of 'kai po chhe!'. The food is as fixed as the ritual: undhiyu, the slow-cooked winter vegetable dish, with jalebi, plus chikki and til laddoo whose sesame warms the body in January. At dusk, paper lanterns called tukkal rise on the kite strings. The next day, Vasi ('stale') Uttarayan, the flying simply continues. In recent years courts and governments have restricted glass-coated and synthetic manja because of injuries to people and birds; flyers are urged to use plain cotton thread and avoid dawn and dusk hours when birds are on the wing.
Keeping Uttarayan in Ottawa & Canada
A Gujarati family in Canada can keep both halves of Uttarayan — the sankranti and the sky. The religious observance travels easily: an early bath, a prayer to Surya, sesame-jaggery sweets shared with the words of goodwill, and a donation to a food bank or charity in the spirit of daan. The kite half needs adaptation, since mid-January in Ottawa means snow and a wind chill that paper patang were never designed for. Some families fly kites indoors-adjacent — in gyms or halls at community Sankranti gatherings — or postpone their kite day to a milder weekend and treat it as their Vasi Uttarayan. Cooking undhiyu and chikki at home, video-calling relatives on Ahmedabad rooftops, and watching the Ahmedabad kite festival online keep the connection alive. Use this site's calendar for the exact sankranti moment in Ottawa time.
Each link opens our computed festival calendar with exact dates and timings for your city.
Questions
Is Uttarayan the same as Makar Sankranti?
Yes — Uttarayan is the Gujarati name for Makar Sankranti, the day the sun enters Makara (Capricorn). The bathing, Surya worship, sesame sweets and charity are common to the festival across India; the massive kite flying is Gujarat's distinctive way of celebrating it, and the day after is kept as Vasi Uttarayan with more flying.
Why are kites flown on Uttarayan?
The custom grew up in Gujarat over centuries and is understood as a celebration of the sun's northward turn — spending the day under the open winter sky, faces lifted toward Surya. Popular tradition also treats the hours in the mild January sunshine as healthful after the winter. Whatever its origin, the kite has become the festival's living symbol.
What is manja, and why is some of it banned?
Manja is kite-fighting string coated with an abrasive so it can cut rival lines. Glass-coated and synthetic (often called 'Chinese') manja has caused serious injuries to people and birds, and Indian courts and state governments have restricted or banned it. Plain or lightly coated cotton thread is the responsible choice.
Source: Gujarati community tradition of Makar Sankranti, Gujarat. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.