{"id":28898,"date":"2026-02-04T05:56:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T05:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=28898"},"modified":"2026-02-04T05:56:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T05:56:28","slug":"28898","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=28898","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pakistan: Lahore prepares to recapture Basant magic<\/a><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kite prices double; Charkhi prohibited, Pinnay will cost up to Rs12,000; hotels at capacity, rooftops going for premium rates.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Kite prices double; Charkhi prohibited, Pinnay will cost up to Rs12,000
\u2022 Hotels at capacity; rooftops going for premium rates
\u2022 Free public transport to keep motorbikes off the streets
\u2022 Rawalpindi and other cities left \u2018high and dry\u2019 due to the ban<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOR nearly two decades, Lah\u00ad\u00adore has been deprived of the colours of Basant. An ent\u00adire generation has grown up only learning about the festival thro\u00adugh faded photos and fam\u00adily stories. But this week, it is set to make a roaring comeback<\/a> \u2014 albeit with unpreceden\u00adted regulations and lingering questions about safety and fairness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people in their teens and 20s will get to experience the legendary spring festival for the first time, while older Lahoris, reca\u00adlling the glory days when world celebrities visited havelis and millions gathered on rooftops for night festivities, will be able to re-live those memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the revival comes with strict<\/a> conditions: QR-coded kites, heavy fines, and massive safety measures. Rooftop rentals now command premium prices, hotels are fully booked, and the walled city is abuzz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet as Lahore celebrates, other parts of Punjab are left out. Ille\u00adgal manufacturing and kite flying continues in other cities, rai\u00adsing uncomfortable questions: what happens after Basant, and where will the thousands of leftover kites go?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The generation that forgot to fly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A GENERATION has grown up in Lahore without ever knowing the joy of beholding a Basant sky: filled with kites of all colours and echoing with the sounds of gleeful kite-manship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many young people aged between 18 and 25, the festival of Basant exists only in secondhand memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now that the Punjab government has now allowed highly regulated Basant celebrations in Lahore for a three-day period, Gen Z may finally get a chance to turn those inherited memories into lived experience for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tuaha Zahid, 26, Basant has always been \u201csomething talked about more than lived, a festival frozen in memories and videos rather than personal experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis will be my very first Basant,\u201d says Aayat-i-Noor, 25. \u201cExperienced not through words or screens but with my own eyes, and that makes it feel incredibly special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many believe that Basant is inseparable from Lahore itself. Abu Bakr Masood, who grew up in the 1990s, terms the festival \u201cLahore\u2019s only genuine product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to Dawn<\/em>, he remembers rooftops filling up after 9am, music blasting through loudspeakers acr\u00adoss neighbourhoods, and people cha\u00adn\u00adting \u201cbo kata\u201d with every victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those now in their 40s and 50s, Basant is more than just a memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hassan Ejaz Wyne, 47, fondly recalls: \u201cFrom the age of 5 to 22, I flew kites almost every other day, and not just on Basant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy top financier was my naani,\u201d he laughs, recalling how children prepared days in advance, capturing \u201caround 50 to 60 good-quality kites\u201d before Basant day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But eventually, he recalls, bad practices eventually overshadowed the joy. \u201cThe festival was hijacked by people who used chemical dor<\/em> (kitestring); it didn\u2019t snap, and that\u2019s why it ended up hurting people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Lahore\u2019s Mozang area, Basant was celebrated with extended family and food stretching across generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty-eight-year-old Majeed Lashari remembers the night of Basant eve, known as \u2018Youm-i-Tana\u2019. \u201cThe whole family would get together, all of my cousins. It was quite a festival,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also speaks about the food served at his haveli during the festival. \u201cThere used to be samosay, jalebi, desi karahi, handis, and naan from a century-old naanwala, Taj Din.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salli\u2019s Haveli, which hosted the world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

YOUSAF Salahuddin, the grandson of Allama Iqbal and owner of Haveli Barood Khana, has hosted some of the most legendary Basant celebrations in Lahore\u2019s history. The haveli itself holds historical significance, as over the years it became a gathering spot for prominent figures from Pakistan and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salahuddin recalls that during the festival\u2019s peak years, many businessmen, politicians, and bureaucrats visited Barood Khana Haveli to celebrate. \u201cJohn Reed, chairman of Citibank World, visited the haveli during Basant. Countless people visited, and apart from Basant, the haveli was visited by Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Khan, Vinod Khanna, Rekha, and many other celebrities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He proudly claimed to have opened up the old city of Lahore to the world by celebrating Basant there, and having many international personalities experience the city and the festival at his abode.IN YESTERYEARS, celebrities and fashionistas used to flock to the walled city to experience Basant celebrations in the heart of Lahore.\u2014M. Arif\/file<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had the festival been commercially developed 25 years ago, Salahuddin says, it could have been a multi-million-dollar event where everyone from top to toe would have benefited \u2014 from caterers to bangle and flower sellers, paan sellers, event management companies, and even the corporate sector. He regrets that much time has been wasted in redeveloping this great festival, which was once part of Lahore\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamran Lashari, former director general of the Walled City of Lahore Authority, who championed Basant observance during the 1990s and under the Musharraf regime, recalls the unique atmosphere. \u201cLahore is the hub of Basant. Here, the ambience and environment of Basant are different from other cities because of its significant old architecture and rooftops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night Basant, he says, had its own charm in Lahore, where around a million people came out onto their rooftops. \u201cWhen I told a visiting foreigner that one million people come on rooftops during night Basant, he was astonished.\u201d Lashari clarifies that this is no exaggeration, and probably an underestimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Basant saw its peak days in Lahore, along with other businesses, fashion designers also benefited. A Faisalabad fashion designer told Lashari that during Basant, they received many orders from Lahore for both gents\u2019 and ladies\u2019 outfits for the celebrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A festival with many strings attached<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE revival of this iconic festival did not come to pass easily, and the Punjab government is enforcing stringent laws<\/a> and a rigorous registration process to ensure Basant passes without a hitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has enacted the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Act 2025, proposing punishments for offences including flying kites when prohibited, and manufacturing, transporting, storing, selling, or offering for sale \u201cnon-permissible\u201d kites and dor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law imposes three to five years\u2019 imprisonment, or a fine of Rs2 million, or both, on the offence of kite flying unless formally allowed by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For manufacturing, transporting, and selling prohibited twine, the punishment is imprisonment for five to seven years, or a fine of Rs5 million, or both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a child commits an offence, he will be tried under the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018 and punished with a fine of Rs50,000 for the first offence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On repetition of the same offence, the fine increases to Rs100,000. If the child is unable to pay, the fine shall be recoverable from his parents or guardian, and in case of default, it shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.Under the new rules, kite string must be made of cotton with not more than nine threads, and no less than 28 counts.\u2014Murtaza Ali \/ White Star<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law also mandates that no manufacturer, trader, or seller of permissible kite-flying material shall manufacture, trade, or sell such material unless registered with the deputy commissioner concerned on payment of prescribed fees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As per the Punjab Regulation of Kite Flying Rules 2025, a \u2018patang\u2019 shall not exceed 35 inches in width and 30 inches in length, while a \u2018gudda\u2019 cannot exceed 40 inches in width and 34 inches in length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, dor (string) must be made of cotton with not more than nine threads and no less than 28 counts. The string must be wound in the shape of a ball, since spools (charkhi) are prohibited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lahore district administration has issued separate QR codes to all manufacturers, traders, sellers, and associations, and instructed them to display the codes in prominent places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manufacturers, traders, and sellers are required to stamp their respective QR codes on kites as well as pinnah (string wound in the shape of a ball).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Basant days, surveillance and monitoring will be done by police, district administration, traffic police, the chief minister\u2019s monitoring cell, as well as Punjab Safe City Authority (PSCA) and different allied departments. Drones will also be used for surveillance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Punjab government is considering softening the conditions of the Punjab Sound Systems Regulation Act 2015, as Basant resonates with songs played on decks on rooftops, a source in the DC office told Dawn that there will be no formal notification or announcement, but law enforcement agencies will be instructed to go slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked when Basant was over, what would be the conditions for kites and twine stock lying with traders or sellers, the DC office source said manufacturers, traders, and sellers would be required to get their \u201cremaining stock\u201d registered with the district administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the official could not explain the situation where buyers still have stock of kites and twine, and even those collecting stray kites, when the Basant event concludes. Traditionally, kite-flyers used to fly kites during post-Basant weekends and Sundays, but these are now banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComplete ban on flying kites will come back into session post-Basant, but the district administration is yet to see into the matter regarding kites and twines available with people after Basant,\u201d the official from Lahore\u2019s DC office told Dawn<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commerce of celebration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FROM individuals to groups to companies, a whole ecosystem has cropped up to facilitate arrangements that will allow people to celebrate the return of Basant after so many years with style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sky has yet to fill with kites, but in the narrow lanes of the walled city, the season has already taken flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shopkeepers sit behind teetering stacks of brightly coloured guddis<\/em>, and spools of string hang like festive garlands above counters. Weeks before Basant, Lahore\u2019s kite markets are already humming with a familiar mix of nostalgia and excitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As expected, prices are skyrocketing. A kite that was worth Rs200 just days ago is now retailing for nearly double the price. Balls of kitestring that cost up to Rs7,000 are now selling for at least Rs12,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the walled city, rooftops are just as valuable, if not more, as shopfronts. Mohsin Fraz, a resident of Bhati Gate, hopes that allowing Basant to return after around two decades will bring with it festivity, culture, tourism and business opportunities for locals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, walled city residents rent out their rooftops for two to three days at prices starting from Rs50,000 and ranging into the millions, depending on their location, size, and facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople spend on food, special Basant clothes, and sound systems. Even overseas Pakistanis are planning to come,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are middlemen now whose job is just connecting roof owners with renters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fraz believes celebrations in the old city are livelier than anywhere else. \u201cAll the rooftops are connected. You can cross dozens of houses without coming down. It becomes one giant celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

65-year-old Javed Mughal tells Dawn<\/em> he has two rooftops \u2014 one is for 40 to 50 people and the other for 10 to 12 people. \u201cThe complete package includes provision of rooftop, kites, string, food, tea, snacks, sweets, and other facilities. And we will only give our venue to people coming with their families,\u201d he says, adding that previously, there was no concept of renting out rooftops in their neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Muhammad Aqeel, owner of a handicraft shop-cum-caf\u00e9 in the old city, the minimum rent of a big rooftop for around 50 people for Basant\u2019s three days is being charged at Rs300,000. And with food, kites, string, and other facilities, it goes up \u2014 Rs15,000 per person or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bilal Sabir, an artist working voluntarily for the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA), says that many rooftops in the walled city have already been booked by private sector companies and brands for hosting Basant-related activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Khawaja Nadeem Saeed Wyne, founder of the Lahore District Kite Flying Association \u2014 the first association registered in 1996 \u2014 the upcoming festival is reviving Lahore\u2019s economy, which used to boom in the past whenever spring rolled around.JAVED Mughal on his roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He compared it to Eidul Azha, for which traders would procure and raise sacrificial animals the whole year, and then sell them over the last one month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While arrangements for venues, kite flying, food, and others are underway, city markets have started witnessing a rush of people, especially women. \u201cMostly women visiting our shop are buying yellow cloth for making Basant dress. Besides this, they are also buying mehndi from other shops,\u201d a shopkeeper in Ichhra bazaar tells Dawn<\/em>. \u201cI have also seen some foreigners, including some women, frequenting the bazaar,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the festivities approach, most hotels are fully booked, with special Basant-related packages also on offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reservation agent from the Pearl Continental Hotel told Dawn<\/em> that most rooms had been reserved from people coming from outside the city, or foreigners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hotel will host a concert by Abrarul Haq on Feb 7, which will also feature kite flying for their guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, a booking manager from the Avari Hotel also said they had no rooms available until Feb 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping the populace safe during Basant<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE Punjab government has announced that buses and rickshaws will ply on city roads over the Basant weekend, to minimise the use of bikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of large-scale initiatives to make the upcoming three-day Bas\u00adant festival safe and successful, 300 buses and 6,000 auto-rickshaws will provide free travel to citizens within the city, and 160 others will transport Basant lovers to Lahore from adjoining cities including Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Muridke to celebrate the three-day cultural event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have finalised agreements with online taxi apps\u2014Yango and InDrive. Under these agreements, both companies will provide as many as 180,000 free rides (each up to 8km) to people across Lahore city district from February 6 to 8. In return, we have provided various prime sites (roads, intersections) to these companies for advertising, branding, or marketing of their business for a certain period,\u201d shares Zeeshan Ranjha, PHA\u2019s additional director general, while talking to Dawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those riding bikes have already been instructed to install steel wire on their bikes for protection, and from February 1, bike riders will have to face heavy fines and legal actions for coming on the roads without the safety antennas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City police authorities have been given the task of installing safety rods<\/a> on one million bikes ahead of the three-day Basant festival, according to a senior police officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have shifted our major focus towards the safety of bike riders during the upcoming three-day Basant festival being revived on February 6,\u201d Lahore Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Athar Waheed tells Dawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have identified hundreds of sensitive points where the most fatal and other injuries to bike riders were reported during the last 10 years due to the string of stray kites,\u201d the CTO says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, he says, the police have bifurcated Lahore into three zones \u2014 high-risk, low-risk, and middle-risk zones, also called Red, Yellow, and Green Zones \u2014 as protective measures for motorcyclists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says that the city\u2019s senior police officers held brainstorming sessions, analysed the data, and came up with an ultimate decision to bifurcate the provincial capital into three zones<\/a>, keeping in view the number of incidents that took place in designated areas in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most areas of the Red Zones fall in the walled city, including Circular Road, Shadbagh, and Ravi Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As per the policy decision, no bike rider will be allowed to enter the high-risk\/red zone without getting the safety wire installed on his or her bike, with the prime objective being to prevent him or her from fatal or other injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the possibilities of using sharp strings by suspects, the CTO says that the authorities have made public a list of 600 registered vendors who are allowed to sell strings and kites under the kite-flying ordinance 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rawalpindi waits as Lahore celebrates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHILE Lahore prepares to celebrate Basant and fill its sky with kites, in Rawalpindi, the ban is still in place. It is obvious that residents of the garrison city are feeling left out of the discussion around whether or not the festival should be celebrated there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, Rawalpindi is the second city after Lahore to be closely associated with the Basant festival and its traditions, having been home to thriving Sikh and Jain communities in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema says that there is a complete ban on Basant in Rawalpindi, and the district administration will implement the ban at any cost.POLICE arrest kite sellers from a bazaar in Rawalpindi during a crackdown in 2022.\u2014AFP\/file<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy is the ban lifted for Lahore and not for Rawalpindi? It is discrimination, as the Basant festival in winter is a healthy activity for people. In these days of tension, people can enjoy flying kites and celebrate the festival,\u201d says Muhammad Naeem, a 30-year-old resident of Chaklala Scheme-III.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says that teenagers are unaware of the festivity of Basant and should know their culture. He adds that kite flying should be allowed, but metal strings and other dangerous paraphernalia should be banned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shamshair Hussain, a resident of College Road, says that there is no other sporting activity for people living in the narrow streets of his locality, and kite-flying is a healthy activity. The government should not impose a ban, he feels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shujaat Haider, a resident of Sarafa Bazaar, says that Basant provides an opportunity for many people to earn money. \u201cPeople start preparations in January and celebrate in March, and for three months, kite makers do thriving business,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the ban, people are still flying kites in Pindi, and even residents of Islamabad come over to partake in the festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In yesteryears, people were seen making strings on the roadside, selling kites of different varieties like guddi, tukal, pari, and dabba for the nights. Strings had many varieties, like tandi, cotton string, and chemical-coated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ustad Raffique and Allah Dita were famous in Naya Mohallah, Bholla in Sabzi Mandi, and many others whose services were hired for kite-flying matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1970464\/lahore-prepares-to-recapture-basant-magic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pakistan: Lahore prepares to recapture Basant magic Kite prices double; Charkhi prohibited, Pinnay will cost up to Rs12,000; hotels at capacity, rooftops going for premium rates. \u2022 Kite prices double; Charkhi prohibited, Pinnay will cost up to Rs12,000\u2022 Hotels at capacity; rooftops going for premium rates\u2022 Free public transport to keep motorbikes off the streets\u2022 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[26687,1549,2076,4361,483,23809],"class_list":["post-28898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-basant-festival","tag-culture","tag-economy-2","tag-entertainment-2","tag-pakistan-2","tag-tradition-2","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28898"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28900,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28898\/revisions\/28900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}