ASIA-PACIFIC

Ahmedabad, India January 7-14

INTERNATIONAL KITES FESTIVAL Popularly known as Uttarayan, this weeklong festival marks the onset of summer in India. The event sees kite makers and flyers from across the globe, showcasing their talent in the kite capital of Gujarat— Ahmedabad. The onlookers can enjoy this vibrant fete at Sabarmati riverfront or Ahmedabad Police Stadium, where people lie down on the grass to watch the beauty of the kite-filled sky. Aerial acrobats, kite painting competitions, and kite making workshops are some of the other highlights of the festivities. In addition, stalls for ethnic handicrafts, kites and authentic delicacies are set up during this fest. gujarattourism.com

Jaipur, India January 24-29

JAIPUR LITERATURE FESTIVAL Set against the backdrop of Diggi Palace and other cultural sites of Rajasthan, this literary event provides a platform for writers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders, sports personalities and entertainers to engage in insightful debate and dialogue. A flagship event of Teamwork Arts, Jaipur Literature Festival organises essay writing and blogging contests for budding writers. Hamid Karzai, Tom Stoppard, Dipankar Gupta, Amy Tan and Amitava Kumar are some of the prominent speakers of this year’s fest. Its B2B platform includes Jaipur BookMark, where publishers, literary agents, and writers discuss business and encourage open conversations. jaipurliteraturefestival.org

Tokyo, Japan January 14-28

HONBASHO

Honbasho is an official sumo championship organised in Tokyo. Six major tournaments are held every year, out of which three are in Tokyo. In this 15-day competition, sumo wrestlers ranked in the top two divisions wrestle once each day, while those of the lower segment wrestle seven times, once every alternate day. The sporting event receives a footfall of more than 10,000 approximately and is broadcast on NHK Japan as well. The wrestlers receive promotion for the next tournament and championship prizes, depending upon their performance. sumo.or.jp

West Bengal, India January 14-16

KENDULI MELA

Set in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, this fair is celebrated in memory of the famous poet Jayadeva. Kenduli Mela aims to preserve the village folk culture by offering the stage to Baul (a group of mystic minstrels from Bengal) musicians, who sing devotional songs to the music of the ektara instrument. Kshiti Mohan Sen, Nandalal Bose, Provat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Ramkinkar Baij, and Santideb Ghosh have contributed to this festival. West Bengal tourism also has packaged tours during this fair. wbtdcl.com