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Like a diamond...
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Kites are forever, with enthusiastic fliers gearing up to take to the skies this Sankranti, writes DEEPSHIKA MEHTA
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ONE KITE doesn't a Sankranti make, a thousand is more like it. Come January and the sky invariably turns into a mosaic of multi-hued kites, zipping and bobbing about while the fliers try to cut out competition, literally.
With makeshift wooden shops appearing overnight at street corners, youngsters make a beeline to these dukaans even as the neighborhood gears up to move en masse to rooftops. Rival and friendly `camps' are formed with the sole intent of getting one's kite to stay up while leaving the rest floating about with sliced strings.
Kalyan Gupta, who claims to have brought down 30 kites in a day when he was a student, is now busy introducing the sport to his son. "I remember the days when we would meet on a roof-top and spend the day flying kites. The number of participants has now reduced and so has the duration of kite flying." His son Yash is already a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to choosing kites. For Rohan, a manager with a BPO firm, "Flying kites is associated with carefree student days. It's impossible to take out time and buy the best of maanja, putting gutta on the charkhis and the works. Moreover, one needs to have a companion. Who's got the time today?"
A visit to the bylanes of Gulzar Houz, which are lined with kite shops, however, tells a different story. Kite buffs of all ages swamp the bazaar and all but jam the traffic. The jargon goes something like `Aadhe ka', `Pound ka' and `Paanch ka', terms that denote different sizes. For the record, `do kalam, do ankhi' is the most popular design while glossy silver and pink kites are for those who intend to indulge in big time show off. The shops themselves are a treat to the eye, with wooden, plastic and steel charkhas sporting multi-coloured manjas dangling from above the counters.
Learning the lingo
For the uninitiated, it would do good to get familiar with the lingo that comes with shopping for the colourful motifs that are as culturally relevant as diyas are during Diwali. The maanja, or kite string, is `deadly stuff' with cactus milk, soda ash and boiled rice being used to give it the cutting edge. "Bareilly maanja is the thread for fighter kites while nylon maanja is advised for tender hands," says Parvez of Ahmed Kite Centre. "Hyderabadi kites are different from the kites belonging to other regions, with a circular khamp (bamboo stick) added for support," says Mushtaq, a kite maker at Gulzar Houz.
Dheel (letting out string), pench (moving in for the kill) and kheench (rapidly drawing in the string) are some key actions that need to be worked out rather spontaneously by the flier, while sidekicks spy on rival tactics. . If this sounds competitive, it's worthwhile to observe the bonhomie that the kite flying fraternity shares after the battle is over.
Finally, there's a kite for every flier, which means not all kites are meant for dogfights. Display kites are not meant to battle it out in their aerial territories. These are preferred by kite fliers with sedate temperament. Coming in a variety of designs - airplanes, pictures of Indian Gods - these are the kites that make it to national and international kite flying competitions. And there are the Takhte Ke Patang, mammoth prototypes of Hyderabadi kites. As they say, the more the merrier. Sankranti marks the entry of the sun into the northern hemisphere. What better way than to fly a kite and add splashes of colour in the sky to bid dreary cold winter adieu?
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