bhopal famous patang utsav in bhopal to mark makar sankranti on thursday turned into a spectacle of unity in diversity as 90 of its participants came from the muslim community another speciality of this fest which saw its 19th edition this year is that the muslims participants bring traditional sesame balls or til ka laddoo for hindu contestants these ladoos are considered auspicious on makar sankranti according to hindu beliefs given the enthusiastic participation from the minority community it was no surprise that all the top three prizes were bagged by nasir khan bablu khan and allu the event was organised at mandakini ground at kolar road we have been following this tradition since the last 19 years most of our participants in this competition are muslims our idea is to fly high together said vijay shankar dixit organizer of patang utsav the competition started at 12 noon and continued till 530 pm in evening this year there were 40 participants at the kite flying competition in 16 teams first place was taken by nasir khan of india kite club bablu khan and allu who held the second and third positions respectively were from kolar kite club beaming with excitement aakriti tiwari who has been attending this kite flying competition since past 19 years said this place is a unique combination of people from different communities they are called kite buffs a best example of unity i have seen since my childhood as bhopal was ruled by nawabs kite flying is considered a royal hobby there are many people who have been mentored by expert kite flyers from different communities my mentor is a muslim and we are passionate about kites i strongly feel religion should not be a barrier in friendship when makar sankranti season arrives our life starts revolving around kites and their trends said laxmi khandelwal a known kite buff from bhopal who likes wearing heavy kiteshaped gold ornaments