Skip to main content
Sensations English Logo
LEVEL C1

Shadowing the newsreader

Listen to the newsreader read out each line and then practise saying it. Record your own voice line by line and submit your voiceover.

Hide View

A Pakistani springtime kite festival, banned in 2007, saw scores of youngsters defying authorities from their rooftops.

A vibrant and age-old tradition, Basant celebrates the gusty arrival of spring but after a slew of related accidents, government officials have prohibited the celebrations.

Piano wire and kite strings soaked in acid, were some of the tactics employed by kite flyers in their kite-fighting clashes.

Unfortunately, these practices too often resulted in serious injuries and occasionally saw people dying as they got caught in tangled wires across the streets.

Kite-fighting champions and their fans would also contribute to further injuries and fatalities during their victory celebrations by firing bullets into the air, which would sometimes ricochet back to the ground.

Rawalpindi, the epicentre of the illegal festivities saw in excess of 1,500 deployed police officers surrounding the area in pursuit of illegal kite-flyers.

Here's senior superintendent of police, Waseem Riaz.

Like kite flyer Furkan Ahmed, many participants are of the opinion that the festival should be allowed to take place and that firing guns and other such hazardous practices should be outlawed.

Prior to the 2007 ban, Basant was a family event where it was tradition for girls to don yellow, in honour of the springtime festivities.

It's hoped by many that future generations will get a chance to enjoy this annual spring tradition.

REGISTER NOW

Get videos, articles, games and study tools!

Learn at six levels from A1 to C1
Or sign up with your Email
By clicking “Sign Up” above you are accepting our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign in

Sign up with email

Enter the following information to create your account.
All sign up options

Log in Or create an account

or

Forgot password?

reset password or login

Crop Image

Crop preview
Add to homescreen