Patang aur Pech Festival | Independence Day Special | Old Delhi

About the Event:

On the fifteenth of August, Old Delhi does not celebrate on the ground. It celebrates on the roof.

Since before independence, the rooftops of Shahjahanabad have filled with kites on this one day of the year. The tradition began as protest. Kites carrying slogans went up against the Simon Commission in 1927, and the tie between flying a kite and being free has never left this city.

Patang Aur Pech Festival is that afternoon, curated. Every guest gets kites, cotton dor and a charkhi. Ustads from the walled city are on hand to teach you to fly. There is a live pech competition called in the idiom of the galis, food counters running through the evening, and music throughout. Add to that pop-up stalls, games on the deck, and plenty to keep the day full.

At 6:30 PM, the fireworks light up across the city and every…