International Kite Festival Kite Festival, a national festival for Gujarat is observed on the 14th of January, the day

when the sun enters the tropic of cancer. On this day young boys and girls and even old people, are on their house tops flying kites. Now the festival, held at Ahmedabad attracts the connoisseurs of kites from all corners of the world and is known as International Kite Festival. Started in the year 1989, it coincides with the festival of Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti. The change in the direction of winds on Makar Sankranti is marked by thousands of colourful kites of all patterns and dimensions which dot the blue sky. The festival lures expert kite-makers and fliers not only from major cities of India but also from around the world. Saptak Music Festival A festival of Indian classical music usually conducted on the First week of January in Ahmedabad every year. This festival was inaugurated by Pt. Ravi Shankar in 1980. The musical event is organised by a public charitable trust which runs the Saptak School of Music. This festival which spans the first 11 days of January, showcases the best talents and presents as many as a hundred plus musicians with sincere commitment to standards. The sun temple at Modhera in Mehsana district in north Gujarat, built during the reign of the Solanki king Bhimdev I, represents one of the most magnificent monuments of Gujarat. The temple, though in ruins, is considered one of the best specimens of Indian art and architecture of the by gone era. Tarnetar Fair There are many fairs in Gujarat where numerous tribal people gather on special occasions to participate in the various activities that take place at the fair, whether these are religious or secular, and to enjoy themselves thoroughly. The Trinetreshwer Mahadev Fair at Tarnetar, near the industrial town of Thangadh, Saurashtra, is one such fair. It is believed that the fair has been held on this ancient site since antiquity. The fair is linked with the story of Draupadi's swayamvar and it is said that it was at this place that the great archer Arjuna performed the difficult task that won him his bride. A pole was erected in the centre of the kund and a fish was kept rotating at the top of the pole, at top speed. Kutch Mahotsav Like so many other regions of Gujarat. Kutch has its own distinctive character. It is, in fact, a peninsula, lying between the Sir river, the Sir Creek and the Great Rann of Kutch on the north-west, and the Gulf of Kutch on the east. The country is somewhat bare and wild, with some cultivated fields near the villages. It has a remarkably heterogenous population, who belong to 18 different tribes, each with its own language and culture. Yet Kutch, with its colourful people, historic towns, and remarkable handicrafts, has much of interest to offer visitors.