A girl stands near a kite with portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama. (Associated Press)
As Gujarat gears up for Uttarayan, the festival for kites, it is the 'Modi-Obama' kites, featuring PM Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, that are dominating markets across the state.
From Vadodara to Surat, these kites are flooding the markets with kite makes insisting they are the flavour of this year's Uttarayan festival.
President Obama will be the chief guest during Republic Day celebrations and kite makers seem to be cashing in on the newly found bonhomie between the two countries.
"Ever since there has been an announcement that he's coming, we have noticed that buyers with Modi-Obama kites specifically are approaching the sellers," said Mohammad Shakir, a Vadodara-based kite maker.
When he was the chief minister of the state, Narendra Modi images had been invariably dominating the kite themes, but this year images of the prime minister alongside President Obama are selling like hot cakes.
"First America hosted our prime minister and now he's coming. Two strong democracies are coming together so it is nice to fly a kite which has images of both these leaders on it," commented a Vadodara resident, Pratik Shah.
The international kite festivals have already kicked off in several parts of the city and now the Obama-Modi kites are all set to soar quiet high. NRIs who generally flock to the state during this time are also catching a fancy for the Obama-Modi kites.
So, this Uttarayan, watch out for these kites dominating the skyline.