Basant is one of the biggest festivals on the Lahori's calendar; a truly fascinating and most awaited social occasion that does not revolve around a religious ritual but around putting thousands of kites into the sky to welcome Spring. The sight of a whole city caught up in a "Basant" frenzy startles foreigners and Pakistanis alike.

Basant is a spring festival. It heralds both the approach of the harvest and the end of winter. This year the festival was celebrated on 24th & 25th February 2007.  From the morning of 24th onwards, the roofs of Lahore were full of young and old keeping their kites afloat. By early afternoon, the sky was filled with kites of different colours. They come in different sizes as well — some have to be transported on the roofs of cars, others are small enough to be carried on bicycles. Yellow is the dominant colour. "This is the colour of the mustard ripening in the fields. The fun of Basant does not preclude the intense competition that is a uniquely south Asian phenomenon — cutting each other's kite lines. Manjha is used to give that "cutting edge" to the twine and each time a kite's life-line is severed, a cheer, "Bo-Kata", (loosely translated as "a kite cut off") is sent up by the victor. The beauty of Lahore's Basant is that every one — rich and poor — can enjoy it since all that is required is a kite and a ball of string. The wealthy Lahoris may have their huge kites with intricate patterns, but in the end a kite is, well, a kite.   

This year, the fever of Basant is low, due to ban imposed by Supreme Court of Pakistan on Kite-Flying. However, a very simple innovative device is also seen this year which in the shape of a wire antenna is implanted on Motor-Bikes to save the riders.