Colourful kites of different shapes, sizes, patterns and myriad colours, dotted the Hubballi skies as the two-day International Kite Festival began here on Monday.
The Kshamata Samsthe, founded by Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines, Pralhad Joshi, has organised the annual event.
MLAs Abhay Patil and Shankar Patil Munenakoppa, Pradeep Shettar, MLC, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner R. Dileep, trustee of Kshamata Samsthe Govind Joshi, and others took part in the inaugural ceremony at the open space adjacent Oxford College on Kusugal Road in Hubballi.
Subsequently, 50 kite flyers coloured the bright blue sky with their kites.
The event is part of an initiative to develop the brand Hubballi-Dharwad, and this year too the kite fest has a mix of different programmes including dance, music, and painting.
Artist of international fame, Vilas Nayak, enthralled the audience by producing paintings within minutes.
As the wind favoured them, various people started flying their kites allowing them to soar high drawing applause from the crowd.
Some of the flyers allowed members of the audience to hold the thread of the kites and gave them tips on kite flying.
Kites resembling Santa Claus, Mahatma Gandhi, and others dotted the skies.
As the sun went down, playback singers Vijay Prakash and Archana Udupa enthralled the audience.
After sunset, kites with LED illumination were flown. The festival will conclude on Tuesday evening.
Standup comedian Gangavi Pranesh and his team will perform after the concluding ceremony.
