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Colourful kites embellish Indian skies

     Ahmedabad/Jaipur: People living in northern parts of India seem to be enjoying kite-flying the most these days. Some are enjoying it as a part of festivities, others getting a taste of this gala activity in royal palaces. In many parts of Gujarat, the sky is looking embellished with colourful kites these days. People, irrespective of age, can be noticed all engrossed with either flying or purchasing kites and strings that can make them last longer than others'. The special occasion is a two-day annual festival of "Uttarayan" or "Makar Sankranti", which started this Friday. "Uttarayan" marks the transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. It coincides with the beginning of the annual harvest season. In Gujarat, kite flying has a special significance during "Uttarayan" festival. The blue spread of sky offers a special look of colourful kites of various shapes and sizes, supported by cheers of people in open grounds or roof tops of their houses.

    "My examinations are near but I cannot miss this festival. I am only worried about the cuts we get from the thread while flying kites. I love this festival, I will come back to Ahmedabad for "Uttarayan" even if I go out of this country," says Jay, a student. "We have been waiting for this day since a year. We are on the rooftop with our family members the entire day. We don't do anything else and even the food is brought from outside," says Nirali, a resident. Joining the bandwagon are the women, especially in Ahmedabad, who are in no mood to waste the two days while cooking delicious sweets or food for the men. They are out in the market and enjoying a good meal. "We celebrate this festival by flying kites and spending time with family. We don't usually cook at home during this time. We prefer to eat out at this time," said Payal Lakadwala, a local. During the festival varieties of sweets flood the sweet shops in the State. To attract customers, various types of sweets and snacks are prepared specially during the festival. Besides, in Ahmedabad, an international Kite-flying competition is in progress in which contestants from 22 countries are participating.

    Meanwhile, in Jaipur, the royals are playing a perfect host for dozens of foreign tourists visiting the pink city, famous for its palaces and jewels, with a special kite-flying event organised especially to give them a feel of the colourful season. Jaipur's Royal family has opened its palaces to the tourists to help them learn about kites and their significance to the season, which marks the beginning of harvest season across the country. The visitors were dazzled by the plethora of colours and the uniqueness and range of designs of the kites while the royals gave them an insight into the sport their ancestors have for long patronised. A dash of traditional Rajasthan folk music, which had singers playing drums, cymbals and anklet bells, added to the aura. For the members of the royal family, it is a time to recall a few sweet memories and anecdotes and reliving the past glories. "Earlier, when the King used to fly kites and whenever he lost a kite, the villagers would bring it back for which they used to get reward with entire estates. But that tradition is not possible now a days but we are trying to keep the heritage alive," says Narendra Singh, the prince of the Jaipur royal family.

    Rajasthan, in particular, has been the biggest patron of kite flying. Each year in January the sky is clouded with thousands of colourful kites, flown from atop almost every home. For most tourists the simplicity of the event, which needs little more than a dollar's worth of kites and the flying rope to celebrate, was fascinating and a return to childhood, while others basked in the splendour of meeting a real-life "Maharaja". "It is certainly a very beautiful setting. The Maharaja is very gracious to come down here and spend time with people and with all of us. It is also a very pretty sight to see all these colours flying around in the air," said Christian, a tourist from New York. "It is very exciting, it is like being a child again. You can enjoy doing something so simple. Wait for somebody to cut your kite and get angry or cut somebody's kite and feel clever about it. So this is new for me," said Pauline, another tourist from England. Although there are varying tales to the origin of kite flying, but it is believed that kites were first flown in China about 2,000 years ago and were brought to India through the silk route, by traders. Since then, however, the art has taken over a completely new style and purpose for Indians, who have incorporated them as an integral part of many festivals and celebrations.
-Jan 15, 2006

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