2018 Sankrant in Mumbai

This year, we celebrated Sankrant in Mumbai. There has been a gradual decline in kite flying in Mumbai, but there are still pockets around Mumbai where kite enthusiasts live and fly. Some of these areas are around Malad, Borivili, Vile Parle, Santacruz and Masjid areas.

I was pleasantly surprised at the number of folks flying kites in Mumbai. It's after many years that I've spent Sankrant in Mumbai and it was worth it.

We bought kites from a shop outside Vile Parle West station. We got the big tailed Rajasthan artisans made kites. These kites have a large rounded tail that fuses into the body of the kite. These kites are really versatile, they handle well and are really good for kite fighting.

Some them turned out to be a bit light and did not turn well. But the one I flew on Saturday 13th was a wonderful blue and black kite  and I cut 10 kites with it, and remained undated.

 

We even got great manja (thread). This year, I got a little thicker manja (12 thread). It was really sharp and strong. 

My 11 year old son also flew with me this time. I bought him his own firki and he cut 6 kites. He was super excited to have won the kite duels. Other times he lost his kites and sometimes he did not even realize that the duel was on. It's all part of learning to survive in the sky. My wife helped him catch his firki and she flew some kites too. 

My dad who is 78 years old also flew with us. He taught me kite flying as a kid and I remember those days when he used to hold my firki for hours as I enjoyed my kites. Here's a photo of my father flying, I was so pleased to see he has not lost his touch. 

As we returned to the US, I got some of those broad tailed kites with me. In Minneapolis, where I live, we have the Lake Harriet Winter Kite Festival. For those of you who don't live in cold weather, the lake freezes in winter and you can walk on it. In fact cars and trucks can also drive on the lakes once they are frozen. I intend to take some of my kites to fly on the lake this time. 

This year I did not take enough video footage to create a good video clip. Maybe next year. 

Kites flying is such a good sport - you get to go outdoors, improve your eyesight, sharpen your reflexes and look up into the beautiful, vast expanse of our universe. Go fly, soar high and have fun! 

Kites at SILC Mela, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Happy Sankrant 2012

It is unusually warm in Minnesota this year. In fact they have cancelled a winter kite festival where people fly kites on a frozen lake. The lake has not yet frozen. I was so looking forward to this year's winter kite festival. Well there is always 2013.

My son and me flew some kites Sunday morning. He is five and can already control the kite well. Here are some photos.

Wish you all a very happy Sankrant and off course happy kite flying.

Kay Po Che!

Sankrant in Houston

After many many years I had the chance to fly real fighter kites. Houston has an annual event for Sankrant. We reached the field about 11.00 a.m. People were already shouting “kay po che” – I cut your kite – the celebration shout.

We bought about 30 paper kites and a firki (reel) of manja. And off we were, flying and cutting. What pleasure, what fun, what a great sport! For the next 3 hours all I remember is the sky, kites, manja and sheer pleasure of kite flying. It is a passion were you are swept away and all that exists is you and your kite. What a lovely feeling.

The sweet tune of “kay po che” still rings in my ears.

It's Sankrant today ! Fly Fly Fly !

It’s 14th January, and it's Sankrant, the kite flying festival in India. I miss flying kites here in Minnesota. Since I was a kid I used to wait eagerly for Jan 14th. My excitement would in fact start right after Diwali (sometime in Oct/Nov). I used to plan a trip with my dad to a kite shop to get kites and manja. I like the Indian fighter kites style of flying, as you would have guessed from my blog name.

I would go for a medium size paper model of fighter kites. These are very versatile, can be maneuvered very well and very responsive, yet strong. On the manja (string) front there are usually two broad categories – thin and thick. This choice of which type of manja to select depends on your kite fighting strategy. And there are two basic strategies – gashit (pull) and dheel ( let go).

I like the ghasit (pull) mode, you usually attack the kites that are flying in front of you. You swoop in from under their manja and pull really hard in that swoop. What this does it cuts the other person’s manja, you really have to pull very hard and vigorously to create enough friction to cut the other person’s kite.

The other mode of kite fighting is to let the kite go and let the wind do its job. In this mode, you usually attack the other person from the top and let your manja go (dheel de).

Once we had bought our kites and manja, sometime in December, then I am anxious to start the preparations for Jan 14th. We usually used to get close to 100 paper kites. The next step was to tie the kanni (Stringed) to the kites. Once all kites are ready, I could not wait for Sankrant.

On the day of Sankrant, I used to get up real early, like 6.00 a.m., get ready and head to the terrace. In the mornings, in Bombay, there is usually very little breeze, but the breeze in the mornings blows from East to West. So there were some real enthusiasts who would fly in the mornings. You really need great skill to fly in that mild breeze. I used to love it.

By about 11.00 a.m. the wind would start to change direction and then start blowing from West to East. Now people really got their kites up a going. I used to grab a quick lunch and back again to the terrace. By now some friends and family would have arrived and the real kite fighting starts. You don’t care if a small child is flying or a grandmother or grandfather is flying or a girl is flying for the first time. If your kite is in the air, it game for a fight. It sounds kind of brutal now, but we got immense pleasure from cutting as many kites as we could. Every time you someone else’s kite you shouted from your top of your voice – Kay Po Che. (I cut your kite.)

At times you would loose your own kite in the fight, we would reel in the manja and get another one in the sky as soon as possible. This used to go on for the whole day and I just loved it. At the end of the day I would be tanned black and my hands would be bleeding due to the manja. It was worth it.

Friends and family used to get together in the evenings for a cup of tea, some teel ladoo ( sweet sesame balls) and talk about their exploits during the day. Now that I am in Minnesota I have not been back to India for Sankrant for a long time. But I am traveling to Houston this weekend where they have a kite flying festival. Stay tuned for photos and my report on that festival.