Archive for January 14, 2009
Kite Flying - A Popular Festival of Jaipur
Kite Flying in Jaipur - Celebrated Festival in Rajasthan
About Kite Festival
The much-awaited Kite Festival started on 12 January at City Palace organized by Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Museum Trust to promote the cultural heritage of the state.
This five-decade-old festival celebrated with same fervor reflecting the social ethos of city. More than 300 tourists left spellbound when the saw the kite experts giving twist and turns to kites in the sky.
The festival reflects a spirit of gay splendor and attracts the best kite flyers of the world to participate and exhibit their kite flying skills in this unique festival. The colorful paper kites in red, blue, yellow, green, pink, orange, fushcia, indigo, ochre, gold and silver kites adorn the azure skies of Jaipur.
There were foreign fliers from countries including Singapore, Malaysia, France, UK, US, Japan, South Africa and Holland. Foreign kite fliers demonstrated stunt-kite flying, known as “traction” or “power” kiting, while Indian fliers displayed their skill at flying kites made of paper.
Kite Flying in Jaipur
Kite Festival is a popular festival of Jaipur, Kite flying is enjoyed by people of all age-groups. However, 14 January, the day of Makar Sankranti, makes the official day for flying kites in Jaipur.
Jaipur is well known for its passion for kites, where half of the city can be seen on the roofs of houses, deeply engrossed in the skills of kite flying.
People make most out of the festival by flying kites for the whole day. The sky becomes next to invisible as innumerable kites cover it. People form groups and fly kites, to enjoy the event to its full. With each cut loose of a kite, people fill the environment shouting, “Woh Kata”.
People shout from their terrace as adversary’s kite is cut down. Everyone is an adversary in this game and each kite is a competitor for the other. Engrossed in Kite flying, people enjoy loud music and food on the terrace itself. In Jaipur, the sky looks like a huge collage with all kites of all shapes and designs in it.
The sky is dotted with thousands of kites of different colours, sizes and styles.Kite flying started in the early morning with music and shouting, and is due to end late at night.
History About Kites
Kites has a very ancient kite tradition. Most people believe that kites were brought into India by Chinese travelers F Hien and Huin Tsang. Patang or guddi as it is more commonly known, are made of tissue paper, and bamboo. And almost all Indian kites have a very similar shape and that is of a diamond tissue paper with a center spine and a single bow intersecting the spine.
Kites are a part of everyday life in India. The anxiety and the energy that runs over many a rooftops during pench larana or kite fighting evokes immense nostalgia.
The tradition is passed onto kids from their elder brother or father or cousins. or they will pick up the tricks of the trade while assisting their seniors by holding the charkhi or the roll on which glass coated thread or manjha is wound, and keeping the line free of tangles. If you are a good assistant, you would grow up to be a good kite fighter!
Image Source : Wikipedia
