Basant is a kite flying festival in which the arrival of spring is celebrated in many cities of Pakistan. But it is more colourful in the old city of Lahore as it is basically the festival of Punjab. It is mostly held in the months of February and March.
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Special arrangements are made to celebrate Basant Festival. For families, it is a great occasion to get together with their loved ones and celebrate. There is a theme for clothes when it comes to Basant. Everyone wears yellow clothes on this occasion. Girls wear yellow 'Shalwar-Kameez' with dupatta and boys wear yellow stole with their clothes.
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People fly kites from their roof-tops accompanied by their friends and neighbours. They compete with each other to cut their competitor's kite string and as one cuts the string of the other kite flyer, the sound of 'bow-kata' (shout in joy) fills the air. While kids on the streets shouting and running after the broken kites.
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Variety of traditional foods are served to the guests like Biryani, Paye, Nihari etc. In snacks Samosay, Pakoray, Chaat, Jalebi etc are being served.
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Moreover, special programmes or 'Mela' are organised within the cities to celebrate Basant. Not just kite flying but this Mela also includes folk dances, fire works, performances, face painting, stalls of traditional food and some stalls of 'bangles' for girls. Also there are some rides for kids so they can enjoy the festival too.
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Setbacks Of Basant
Apart of all this enjoyment, there are some disadvantages of this Basant Festival. Firstly, it wastes too much money and time. Secondly, during this festival, many fatal accidents takes place such as people fell off their roof-tops and Glass-coated kite string cause some serious injuries and even deaths of many people by cutting off one's throat. And mostly cars hit the children who are running after the kites on the streets.
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Ban On Basant
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Its been a decade since the Basant Festival has banned. Due to the loss of numerous lives during this festival over the years, government banned Basant Festival. Unfortunately, many people are unemployed due to this ban as kite-making was the only bread and butter for them. People should take preventive measures when celebrating Basant to make it a safer event for all.
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