15/01/2026
Why Sankranti is different in Telangana/Hyderabad 🪁
Sankranti in Hyderabad is not just a festival. It’s a mood. It’s the one time of the year when our city stops looking straight ahead and starts looking up.
Long before offices and traffic, Sankranti was Pedda Panduga, and a simple harvest celebration. The muggulu outside homes, the gobbemma with flowers — all of it was our way of thanking the land for feeding us. That tradition quietly stayed with us, even as the city grew.
As it is published in Etv Bharath (https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/kite-festival-and-sakranthi-celebrations-take-off-in-hyderabad-enn26011303965) the Hyderabad’s kite culture is not new, as such the historians say kite festivals were celebrated here even during the Qutb Shahi period, with events held at Golconda Fort in winter. It was a considered to be a thing a riches. However, it was during the reign of the Sixth Nizam, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, that the festival truly gained prominence and Kite flying became a citywide celebration, meant to bring people of all religions together. There werec competitions on kite flying and prizes were given, and even rulers from other regions sent greetings.
When we walk around Charmina, Gulzarhouse, and Dhoolpet, we can see that the generations of families have been making kites and manja there for decades. No factories. No shortcuts. Just skill passed from one generation to the next. Ask any flyer — Dhoolpet manja has its own respect.
Even our elders had their logic. Sankranti marks the start of Uttarayana, when the sun gets stronger. Spending the whole day on the terrace flying kites was their way of soaking up sunlight after winter — health and happiness, both sorted.
Today, when Hyderabad is gaining its place in being a cosmopolitian City, the festival has grown bigger — international kite flyers, sweet festivals, eco-friendly manja — but the heart of it remains the same.
If you really want to feel Sankranti, skip the big stages once. Go to the Old City. Stand on a terrace in Gulzar Houz or Puranapul. The sky, the noise, the “KAAT-TEY!” — nothing has changed.
That’s Hyderabad for you.
Rooted. Loud. Beautiful.
What’s your favorite Sankranti memory? Drop it in the comments! 👇
