The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : This sport is right up in the air now

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Sunday, Aug 10, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

This sport is right up in the air now

Staff Reporter

The festival attempts to preserve and develop rural folk culture and sports

Colourful spectacle: The giant Kathakali kite is known to dwarfs all other kites

BANGALORE: One of the finest sports of rural India is all set to create a fascinating splash in the skies at P.E.T. Cricket ground in Mandya on August 10.

Contrary to the habitual practice of organising modern games, the Karnataka Janapada Parishad, along with the State Tourism Department and H.D. Choudaiyya Prathistana, Mandya, is on to its creative venture of organising the 21st State-level kite festival on Sunday.

The main thrust of this endeavour is to encourage, preserve and develop rural folk culture and sports.

Around 60 teams will participate in the kite competition.

The most fascinating part of the sport is to watch around 2,000 kites of different colours, each 10 to 20 feet wide, connected to a common thread, and bobbing in the sky. “The response would be tremendous if the sport is organised in Bangalore. But we want to spread the sport, to all parts of Karnataka even at the cost of low participation,” said Byranahalli Shivaram, theatre coordinator, Karnataka Janapada Parishad.

“Historically, the kite festivals were held during the Ashada season, particularly because it would be windy then. All classes of people would turn up to watch — right from the king to the common man,” added Mr. Shivaram. The competition is divided into four groups: children less than 12 years of age in first division; those between 13 and 22 years in second division; 23 years and above in the third division; and last, a 15-member group as the fourth division.

The efforts of the Karnataka Janapada Parishad is set to yield results as now kite flying is a serious sport in Mysore, Doddaballapur, Devanahalli and Bangalore.

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