Basant; A festival of Kites & Colors

The grand Badshahi Mosque

Basant is a true Lahori celebration of colors, flowers, kites, fragrances, of love & of a sweet youthful time called Spring.

Each March brings the colorful blooming of Lahore, the city of Gardens; my city.

Whole of the city is decorated with colorful sponsor banners and lights all along the canal, the Mall road and Main Boulevard, Gulberg. All major landmarks are lit up to show grandeur of Lahore's rich culture and its Mughal & Colonial heritage.

Asif Jha's Haveli; one of the main venues of grand Basant celebrations.

Friends and family gather at common places to celebrate reunions and party for most of the Basant Night. Starting from the sunset, flood lights are lit up all over the city's skyline as people start off with white-kite flying. BarBQs are served with traditional Lahori dishes as the cries of "Bo Katas" & Dhol (traditional drums) echo throughout the next day.

Basant Night

People from different cultures and countries are welcomed by their hosts. Many foreign dignitaries from the federal capital, Islamabad are invited over to different Basant events in Lahore.

Basant has become the biggest drawer of tourists for this historic city and Pakistan's cultural capital. Most of the suburbans book roofs in the old city especially for this event.

Guddi Luteray; Children run after kites that land

From 5-star hotels to Golf Clubs, from Banks to Telecom companies; all become a part of Jashn-e-Baharan (Celebration of the Spring) by arranging functions of their own in different vicinites of the city.

For a Lahori, Basant is a blend of joy, happiness, love and celebration; a moment of rejoicing with loved ones and that of just chilling out.

This time, Basant Day was on March 12, 2006 i.e. Yesterday.