LAHORE, Jan 30: Preparations for Basant are gradually gaining momentum in Lahore. The 24-hour festivities, expected to be witnessed by hundreds of thousands of guests from home and abroad , will start from the night of Feb 5 and end on Sunday evening.
Saturday being a holiday on account of the Kashmir Day is expected to turn into a mini Basant which the people in Lahore could not celebrate during the Eid holidays because of torrential rains and on Sunday because of a ban to facilitate the holding of first-ever marathon in the city.
"After the Eid and the marathon the only thing left for the people to enjoy is Basant and we are fully preparing for it," a shopkeeper in Mochi Gate's wholesale kite market said, expecting the sales to pick up from Monday.
"Rains, Eid, events in Balochistan, tsunami and finally the marathon have been dominating the coverage of the print and electronic media, marginalizing the approaching Basant.
"We need to have media support for creating the Basant hype," another shopkeeper said. He hoped media would now focus on the approaching main event of Lahore. Like in the recent past the Parks and Horticulture Authority, tourism department and the district governments are actively preparing for Basant.
The PHA is organizing the Jashan-i-Baharan which was inaugurated on Sunday evening. Besides different events, it reportedly plans to arrange a Basant night at the historic Asif Jah Haveli in Chuna Mandi.
The Ravi Town administration has planned a dinner at the Delhi Gate's Shahi Hamam. It is already illuminating Kashmiri Bazar from Delhi Gate to the Paaniwala Taalab overnight. Historic Masjid Wazir Khan is also tastefully illuminated.
It is expected that a large number of foreign diplomats in Pakistan, politicians and senior civil and military officers would witness Basant in Lahore. Some Indian film stars too are expected to be here on the occasion.
Multi-national companies and the moneyed people of Lahore have booked the rooftops of big plazas and houses in the Walled City for the Basant night. Five star hotels too are arranging for the Basant festivities.
Almost all hotels and rest houses have been booked by visitors from outstation and abroad whereas a large number of people would stay with relatives or friends. Mochi Gate and other areas selling dor and kites have started drawing customers.
Shopkeepers said the sales would pick up near Basant because now most people go for the readymade stuff rather than having it made from skilled people. The makers of dor are working overtime in almost every area of the city to meet the pressing demands. For them the workload has increased because of two wet spells since Eid.
Though the sellers do stock kites and dor much before Basant, they still are placing orders to the kite makers. White kites, including guddas and patangs, are the most sought-after items.
The rates of dor and kites have been increased in almost all localities in the city. The average price of dor is from Rs 500 to Rs 700, gudda from Rs 7 to Rs 20 and patang from Rs 15 to Rs 30. Large size guddas and patangs are being sold from Rs 100 to Rs 500. -Staff Reporter