Udaipur celebrated the auspicious day of Nirjala Ekadasi with great joy and admiration today. Many customs and traditions attached to this day were observed today in the city including kite flying, giving alms, praying at Lord Jagganath temple (Jagdish Mandir), fasting without the consumption of water etc.

The city of lakes has been active since the morning on this occasion. The people staying in the villages around the city started arriving for the purpose of shopping as well as attending pooja in the city’s temples. The younger population of the city started shopping for their favourite kites and strings in the market.

Along with the general population, some of the more renowned kite flyers were present at Fateh Sagar to show their unusual kites.

Abdul Malik, an internationally renowned kite flyer, showed the current political scenario of the country using three of his kites: two in the shape of tigers named Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev and one in the shape of a cow named Manmohan Singh.

Another kite flyer Abdul Qadir (photo above) also displayed his magnificent kite which was in the shape of a giant snake.

The road leading to Jagdish Temple was congested today due to the number of foreigners and devotees present at the site.

The atmosphere around Jagdish Chowk resonated with the religious occasion with women selling lotus flowers and Prasad meant to be offered to Lord Jagannath as well as offering drinking water and eatables to devotees. The terraces of the homes located in the Old City area were dotted with both children and adults flying kites. The scene was similar in the markets where the shops selling kites were overflowing with customers. In the evening, many women broke their fast to conclude this auspicious day.