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Kites and kite flying have always fascinated me.As I child I would hold the spool while my brother flew kite from our roof. The kite was of light colourful paper and flown with cotton string. Earlier that day he would buy the kite from the nearby grocery shop along with 30 to 40 meters of kite string on a spool
He selected the kite carefully. It was quadrilateral with reflection symmetry across diagonal, had two equal angles and two pairs of adjacent equal length sides, not torn and its bamboo sticks not cracked. He knew where to piercing the kite , how to thread it , make the kite sore in the sky and attain a perfect balance and stability. The kite string held the kite steady. If there was another kite in the sky he would cut it by either reeling-out kite thread or quickly pulling. He made me hold the string of his flying kite and ran after the cut kite to capture it. Most of the time the kite fell three or four houses away but sometimes it went as far as the next colony. He returned back like a soldier with a trophy after a victory.
The kite was invented by the 5th century BC Chinese philosophers Mozi and Lu Ban. Traders from China spread kites, strings and the culture of kite flying to India and other parts of Asia. 13th century Marathi poet- saint Namdev was the first to record kite flying in India. Mughal emperors patronized kite flying. During independence struggle kites with slogans were flown.
The Chinese were the first to use kites in warfare. The Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defences. Admiral Yi of Korea used kites to direct his fleet during the Japanese invasions of Korea. During World War I, the British, French, Italian, and Russian armies used kites for observation and signalling. During World War II, the U.S. Navy used kites for target practice, air rescue, and anti-aircraft .
In India however, kite-flying has been a way of celebrating auspicious occasions, connect with nature and worship Sun- a symbol of divine energy according to Hindu mythology. Flying kites also represents the desire for freedom, the joy of soaring high, hope, bliss, positivity along with reflecting people’s aspirations for a brighter future.
For ages kites have been made by artisans and traditional kite-makers. They put a lot of hard work and efforts in creating kites relevant to special occasions. A kite making business was operated from homes. It allowed creation of individualistic, unique handmade designs using eco-friendly materials. Under Khadi Village Industries Scheme, micro and small enterprises including kite and kite string making were promoted.
Paper kites were small -10 inch or medium -12 inch in size, made of rice paper or handmade recycled paper of 18 to 25 GSM. The price of each was 10 to 25 paisa. Kite string was simple cotton thread 0.3 mm thick. The price of 1000feet long kite string was 50 paisa. Then came a change. 35 -40 years back the size , material and cost of the kites and kite strings changed. Kites became of synthetic materials like plastics, nylon and carbon fibres. Their size became 17 to 28 inch and their price varied between Rs 10 to Rs 400. Simple cotton kite string was first replaced by glazed cotton threads followed by nylon threads coated with adhesives , metals or glass. The price of 3000 feet long kite string went up to Rs.1500.-
Kites and kite strings became non-biodegradable thus anti earth, anti-pocket, anti- humans and anti-birds. According to PTI during the recent Makar Sankranti celebrations in Gujarat, six people tragically lost their lives due to kite strings. In Rajkot, a biker was killed when a kite string cut his throat. Similarly, in Surendra Nagar’s Odu village, Ishwarbhai Thakor died from a kite string injury. Animal activists rescued more than 60 birds injured by kite ‘manjha’ in Mumbai as part of a three-day drive during the Makar Sankranti celebrations. The birds saved include flamingo, eagle owl, kite, parakeets, pigeons and crows. The birds that could not be saved had their wings sliced, necks strangled or bodies deeply wounded.
Who is responsible? According to me the factory owners making kites of plastics, nylon and carbon fibres and kite strings of nylon coated with adhesives, metals or crushed glass. Such irresponsible minority must be punished by majority socially for eliminating livelihoods of traditional kite makers, widening the gap between rich and poor man’s kite flying experience, polluting the earth and ending the lives of humans and birds.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint