Letter from Lahore: Basant brings triumph and tragedy

With the annual kite-flying festival of Basant, heralding the arrival of spring, now the biggest tourist event on Pakistan's calendar, the city of Lahore was once more hosted the occasion yesterday amid immense excitement.

Already, quite literally thousands have driven or flown in from Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi and other cities to ensure they are included in the hectic social scene for the day, featuring elaborate barbecue lunches, exquisite saris and shalwar kameez in yellow and traditional flowers, currently in bloom across Lahore.

Others have flown in, according to hotel guest lists, from the UK, Canada, Australia and countries around the globe, including Sweden, Turkey, Holland, Germany and Brazil.

Only the U.S. is almost unrepresented, with fears arising from terrorist attacks after any strike on Iraq holding back travellers from the country.

Already, the political scene too is set. Pakistan People's Party (PPP) stalwarts are gathering, among the city elite, at the graceful haveli of party loyalist Yusuf Salahuddin in the heart of the city.

Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) men are collected at Khwaja Saad Rafique's home in the city while, with Mian Azhar bowing out of the scene, the PML-QA men are left in something of a lurch, given that the family of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi, from Gujrat, are not known as passionate Basant fans.

With the religious parties having consistently opposed Basant as a 'Hindu' festival, it is assumed the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) will not be marking the occasion. For ordinary citizens, Basant has brought its usual share of tribulations in the form of repeated power cuts, with the power company deliberately suspending supply on peak kite-flying days, such as holidays, and of course, Basant day itself.

The sudden darts made by small boys across roads in the hunt for kites means that road accidents have increased and driving has become even more risky than usual, while everyone with a lawn is well-attuned to the hordes of boys rushing in after stray kites, oblivious to plants, garden furniture, pets or small children that may lie across their path.

The huge Basant party being thrown by the Parks and Horticultural Authority (PHA), which organises the annual festival, known officially by its politically correct name of the 'spring celebration', at the Lahore Fort has generated its own controversy.

Conservationists fear still further damage to the fort building and lawns, while the restricted passes to the event have brought charges of elitism and a fierce contest between government departments to obtain access to the occasion.

Those not invited to what its organisers describe as the 'biggest Basant party in history' will in many cases be at the havelis rented out across the city by private corporations for their parties, while of course, the "people's Basant will take place on rooftops" the few open spaces still left in Lahore and the streets across the city.

Alongside all the celebrations, Basant always brings its share of tragedies. These have already begun unfolding as the kite-flying season peaks.

A 10-year-old youngster had to have his right arm amputated after touching a power cable while trying to bring down a kite, and suffering a massive electric shock, a teenager died after dashing across the path of an incoming train after a kite, while the almost daily litany of injuries and even deaths caused by the sharp string with which the kites are flown appears in almost every newspaper.

Yet, despite these sad stories, Basant is an occasion that brings out what is the best in Lahore as well as some of the worst.

A festival participated in by so many, regardless of age, or class, or gender, is in itself a rarity.

This alone makes Basant a festival worth rejoicing in, with the true spirit largely remaining intact despite the commercialisation of the event and its gradual takeover by giant companies which have succeeded in turning it into an occasion that brings in people from around the world to watch Lahore at its liveliest.