Lahore, Pakistan – As the clock struck midnight between Thursday and Friday, Lahore’s sky erupted in fireworks as the crowds that gathered along one of the city’s main avenues cheered in jubilation.Amid the commotion, Aamer Iqbal, a 50-year-old banker, took a deep breath and asked his daughter to let go of the kite she was helping to launch. It was the first time in nearly two decades that Iqbal was able to engage in an activity that had defined his childhood: the simple act of flying a kite.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listRooftops across Lahore blared music as thousands shouted in joy, sending kites soaring into the night sky, marking the return of the centuries-old spring festival of Basant to the city it calls home.“Kite flying is a whole experience, and the moment I let it go, my entire childhood came flooding back in my mind like a vivid reel, about the times I spent with my brother and my parents flying kites,” he told Al Jazeera from his home in Lahore’s Shah Jamal neighbourhood.Iqbal says kite flying creates the illusion of controlling something high in the air, forging a link between “heaven and Earth”.“You just want to have that feeling, even for the most fleeting moment, to be able to beat the gravitational force and break free,” he said.He was not alone.Six kilometres (3.7 miles) away, Muhammad Mubashir, a 41-year-old businessman, stood on the rooftop of a friend’s house in Lahore’s historical …
