Mangaluru skies filled with artistic kites at 8th International Kite festival
Mangaluru: Kites inspired by Indian art forms such as Kathakali and Yakshagana, alongside designs like Pushpaka Vimana and Gajaraja Garuda as well as cartoon characters flooded skies of Mangaluru marking the 8th International Kite Festival.
The festival held at Tannirbhavi Beach on Saturday was inaugurated by Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Speaking at the event, Minister Rao highlighted the festival’s growing international appeal, citing the participation of a kite-flying world champion from Greece.
“With such global interest, the festival has immense scope to attract even larger audiences. Let us aim to host a grander, more competitive event next year,” he said.
Team Mangaluru, an amateur kite-flying group, organised the event in collaboration with ONGC MRPL and the district administration as part of the Karavali Utsav. This year’s theme was “One Sky, One Earth, One Family”.
They also flew elaborate kites inspired by Indian art forms such as Kathakali and Yakshagana, alongside designs like Pushpaka Vimana and Gajaraja Garuda. These have already represented India at international kite festivals in France, Italy, Canada, amd and South Korea.
This year’s festival witnessed enthusiastic participation from thousands of visitors and kite enthusiasts. International teams from countries such as England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Indonesia, and Portugal joined Indian participants from states including Odisha, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana, Kerala, and Gujarat.
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Ramadan, Lent coincide this year, happens once in three decades: How it happens, when it will occur
This year, Ramadan and Lent are reportedly being observed during the same period, a calendar overlap that happens only once in roughly 30 to 33 years.
According to a post by ‘That Dubai Page’ on Instagram both are important periods of fasting in Islam and Christianity respectively, but they follow different calendars, which is why their dates usually do not align.
What is Lent?
Lent is a 40-day period in the Christian liturgical calendar observed before Easter.
It is marked by fasting, prayer, repentance and self-examination.
The duration of 40 days reflects the time Jesus is believed to have fasted in the wilderness. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends before Easter Sunday, and the feast mass is celebrated on Saturday.
The exact dates change every year because they are linked to Easter, which is calculated based on the Christian liturgical calendar.
What is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer and spiritual discipline. From dawn to sunset each day, adult and able-bodied Muslims abstain from food and drink. The fast is broken at sunset.
Unlike Lent, Ramadan does not follow the Gregorian calendar.
According to admiddleeast.com , Ramadan depends on the sighting of the new crescent moon, known as the hilāl, which signals the start of the new lunar month.
Religious committees in many Muslim-majority countries meet after sunset on the 29th day of the preceding month, Sha‘ban, to look for the moon.
If it is sighted, Ramadan begins the next day. If not, Sha‘ban is completed as a 30-day month and Ramadan starts after that.
While Saudi Arabias announcement is widely followed, each country makes its own official declaration.
Why dont they always overlap?
The Islamic lunar calendar has around 354 days, which is about 10 to 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar.
Because of this difference, Ramadan shifts earlier by about 10 or 11 days each year. Over time, it moves through all seasons.
Lent, on the other hand, is tied to Easter and the Christian liturgical calendar. Since the two religious observances are based on different systems for calculating dates, they rarely fall at the same time.
How often does the overlap happen?
The overlap happens in cycles of approximately 30 to 33 years. When it happens, Ramadan and Lent may coincide for a few consecutive years. After that, they do not align again for decades.
Following the current cycle, major overlaps are not expected again until the 2050s.
