Kite flying is a popular pastime in many parts of the world.
In our country, kite flying is associated with different festivals in different
parts of the country. For example; Gujarat is famous for kite flying during
Makar Sankranti which usually takes place on 14th of January. I have
seen that people of the eastern Uttar Pradesh also enjoy kite flying during the
festival of Makar Sankranti. The people of Delhi have reserved the Independence
Day for this spectacle.
If you are living at Delhi or happen to be in Delhi around
15th of August then you can see the whole sky dotted with colorful
kites around this date. Some of the enthusiasts make elaborate preparations for
this in advance. The activity reaches its peak on 15th of August;
with every rooftop full of kite experts, spectators and cheerleaders. Some people
also arrange grand parties at their rooftops on this occasion; with whisky and
beer in full flow. This is often accompanied by sounds of loud music. The scene
is further enriched by impromptu dance performances by people of all ages.
Some people are so adept at the art of kite flying that they
can make a kite soar in the sky without the help of bulky spools. For them, a
reel of string is enough. Some people are experts in playing the game of ‘Patangbazi’.
This game involves entangling other kites and slashing their strings with the
precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. The moment a kite is set free of its
proverbial umbilical cord, it starts wobbling like a dead bird in the sky. Some
people just run after the ‘dead kite’ to become a winner of looting that kite. Apart
from the expertise, the kite experts also need specially made string called ‘manjha’
to cut their competitors’ kites. A manjha is usually made by applying a layer
of fine shards of glass on the string. Now-a-days, plastic strings are also
available by the name of ‘Chinese Manjha’. They are quite popular among the
kite experts but have earned a bad reputation for causing many freak accidents.
Some of the accidents have even turned out to be lethal by killing some
innocent passerby.
Let us now come to the point, i.e. the story of some kite
enthusiasts who are not experts. They can be termed as dilatants at the most. I
am not even among them but I try to buy lots of kite for my son. My son has
been trying to learn to fly a kite but till date he is unsuccessful in doing
so. But as any other caring father, I have to concede to his demand by buying
lots of kite, string, manjha and spool. This has been going on since many
years. I have to buy a new stock of everything each year because the old stock
becomes useless because of lack of use.
On the D-day, I
accompanied my son to the rooftop to assist him in flying the kite. Some children
and some grown up guys from my apartment were already on the rooftop. Let me
introduce some of them to you. Sai is about 17 years old and he is in the 12th
class. Rajat is about 27 years old and is working in a call centre since two
years. Sunil is about 35 years old and is working at some managerial position
in a reputed travel agency. He is accompanied by his five years old son. It is
needless to say that all of them have come with good quantity of kites and
accessories. People on the adjacent rooftop have two experts in their team. Others
in that team are onlookers, enthusiasts, assistants, cheerleaders. That crowd also
includes some hangers-on who utilize such occasions to enjoy the free liquor.
After wishing a ‘Happy Independence Day’ to each other we
sat down for the real work. Almost everyone was carrying a tablet or a smartphone.
All of us were watching some videos on YouTube about ‘how to tie the strings to
a kite’. After carefully watching the video, I tried to tie the strings to a
kite. It appeared to be good and was looking similar to what was shown in the
video. Rajat, Sai and Sunil were also successful in tying their kites; as show
in the video on YouTube. After that, we searched for videos on ‘How to fly a
kite’. But most of the results were of no use for us as they were showing huge
kites which are not used in our setup. After that, I typed ‘How to fly an
Indian kite’ in the search box. The search result gave use some useful videos. After
watching the video, I asked my son to take the kite at a distance from me. On my
instructions, he lifted the kite up in the air and released it with an upward
thrust. It tried to pull on the string in all directions but the kite refused
to go up in the sky. It just nosedived like an outdated model of Mig fighter
planes. Seeing that, all of us had a hearty laugh. People on the adjacent roof
laughed with some tinge of sarcasm. We took their sarcasm in our stride and
tried to focus on our business. Rajat and Sai were helping each other in flying
their kites. They also met the same fate as us. Sunil’s son was too small to be
of any help and hence my son was helping him in flying the kite.
We continued like that for about an hour. Many of our kites
were torn during our endless efforts. But none of our kites were brave enough to
soar in the sky. Meanwhile, I spotted a street urchin who had also come to the
rooftop to enjoy the celebrations. I called him and requested him to fly my
kite. He was really happy to oblige. He took out a new kite and tied it with
some strings. He did that pretty quickly, the way any kite expert would do. He held
the kite in one hand and held another end of the string in another hand. Within
a few seconds, my kite was soaring high in the sky. While he was busy in
pushing the kite in the sky, I was busy making a video of the spectacle. After that,
I and my son took turns to hold the string for a few seconds to enjoy the
thrill of flying a kite.
That street urchin was kind enough to help Rajat, Sai and
Sunil in flying their kites as well. I offered a full bottle of soft drink to
that little boy as a token of thanks. Thus, our kite flying festival which had
started with a whimper had ended with the much needed hype of a loud round of
cheers from all of us.
