The traditional festival of old Dhaka—Sakrain, also known as Poush Sankranti or the kite festival was celebrated yesterday.

Yesterday was the last day of the Bangla month of Poush. Every year, the Sakrain festival is celebrated on the final day of Poush.

On the occasion of Sakrain, kites were flown during the day time while fireworks, fire shows and laser displays were held in various areas of old Dhaka from the evening.

Rooftops of residential buildings were decorated with colourful lights, while the night sky was filled with multicoloured flying lanterns. Alongside these, musical programmes were arranged on rooftops and in open spaces.

Sound systems, decorative lighting, laser shows and illumination have been set up on rooftops in and around Shankharibazar, Tantibazar, Banglabazar, Sutrapur and Lalbagh areas of old Dhaka. People from different parts of Dhaka city thronged the old Dhaka to celebrate the festival.

The main attraction of Sakrain is the kite-flying and kite-fighting competition. From morning till evening today, the skies over Old Dhaka were alive with kite battles.

On this occasion, shops in Shankharibazar have seen a surge in the sale of kites of various sizes and qualities.

Available kites include Superman, China, chequered, eagle, rocket, star, tekka, love-shaped and many other varieties. Prices of individual kites range from TK 10 to TK 500, while kite packages with reels cost between TK 100 and TK 1,000. Additionally, depending on quality, kite strings were sold at prices ranging from TK 80 to TK 3,000.

Local residents said preparations for the Sakrain festival begin several weeks in advance. Shopkeepers in particular remained busy making kites and lanterns ahead of the celebration.

Lalbagh resident Wahiduzzaman Mashfi said, “The real joy of Sakrain lies in flying kites. All members of our family gather on the rooftop to fly kites together. Cutting others’ kites is our main goal, so we bought many kites. At the same time, we have arranged music on our rooftop to mark Sakrain.”

Raisha Islam, a resident of Shingtola, said, “I was born and grown up in old Dhaka. On the occasion of Sakrain, various types of pitha and food are prepared at our home. There is also music on the rooftop at night. Friends of mine come from faraway places to visit us during Sakrain. It is truly a unique festival.”