It’s been decades since Pakistan celebrated Basant
ISLAMABAD: It’s been decades since Pakistan celebrated Basant, a festival which traditionally comes from the Hindu culture but adopted in Pakistan after Independence. It’s a celebration which usually takes place in the winter between February and March, and the whole country used to celebrate it. Basant used to be a festival people desperately waited for and sounds of joy could be heard throughout, which have now faded as of the past ten to 15 years. The government banned the celebration due to the high death toll from people falling off rooftops, neck cutting from kite strings, and children falling victim to accidents due to running onto the streets to chase after their kites.
While it is understandable as to why the celebration was forbidden, it seems new year celebrations are incomplete with the festival. I appeal to the government to allot one Sunday for people to celebrate Basant and hold a kite festival, even if they bar motorcycles and bicycles to mitigate traffic accidents and congestion. The kite flying custom should be practised away from downtowns and held in parks and grounds with overnight bonfires and parties allowed. With proper emergency preparations in place, perhaps we can try to hold the festival once.
Misal Shahzad
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2017.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
