Come January and the ladies of the house are busy planning their traditional and signature treats. The ones who have nothing to do with the kitchen for Sankranti are busy planning their kite party. For some friends, it is a ritual to catch up. For some families, it is an open air picnic on their rooftop and for some it is the only day to allow the sun leave that sun kissed tone on your skin. Kite parties are to Sankranti what card playing is for Deepavali. Just as every card gang has a good rustler, every kite party group has that one or a couple of friends who do the flying and cutting and the rest cheer and bring the house down.
This part of the festival is about non-stop cheer, unlimited supply of food and drinks in your homes and playing the kind of music which you otherwise wouldn’t even care. Lot of planning goes into organising kite parties — the venue, the menu and the guest list. “Every year we are at our friend’s house in Himayatnagar. Year after year that has been the ritual and the plan is made even without a plan. The menu is the best home cooked food and the fun is unlimited. I would hate to miss it but this year I will be away and it breaks my heart. Our champion kite flyer is Youhan Mistry. His swift moves and fast reaction to kites amazes us. We all fly kites but Youhan is on another level,” says restaurateur Shaaz Mehmood.
Shaaz isn’t sure how he’d feel on the day when he will be away from that terrace and not a part of this open air party. “The sad emoticon is how my mood would be,” he adds.
Kite revellers don’t believe in staying home on that day and waiting for someone else to start sending their kite up. There is no time to wait on a holiday after you have woken up, says another kite flyer. Interestingly, this is one holiday when jumping out of bed has never been a problem. When you sleep thinking of rising to a fun day, is it possible to delay getting out of bed? “We would be up and about on the terrace with our kites by 9 am. We wouldn’t care if anyone has flown their kite yet. All we were and always will be bothered about is when are we sending them up. Our cousins are good enough to make a big gang. Earlier our manjhas used to come from Gujarat, not anymore. Now we buy from dealers who our friends recommend,” says Abbas Lasania.
He adds, “I like colourful manjhas and cutting a finger while flying is a ritual. For me it is a festival well done when I have flown as many kites as I can and also cut as many as possible. I am the happiest that my daughter who is about 7 years old has taken a liking for flying kites. Right now she is just learning, but she will be a pro, I hope,” says Abbas, a businessman who shifted from Secunderabad to Masab Tank and misses the fun and cheer of a joint family in this season.
The rooftop is ideal to have this house party where even the strictest of dads wouldn’t say no to. But there is another destination kite flying pros throng. “You have to see the fun at Gandipet. If anyone asks me since when I have been flying kites, my answer would be ‘since the time I have understood what a kite is’. My brother taught me to fly kites and I have never missed a chance to fly one during Sankranti. I am not the only expert or kite flyer in our group. We are team with expertise on various aspects of kite flying. Together we use our skills to cut as many kites as possible. My favorite manja is the disco manja which is nothing but coloured manja,” laughs Abdul Mukthadar an entrepreneur. Abdul and his friends are true lovers of everything traditional about the kite. “Battery operated spindle will be a mess, we always go for the traditional basic equipments to fly kites,” says Abdul.
Any favorite? “As long it is a kite, it is my favorite,” he smiles.
Family time
For Rajesh Allampally kites and Sankranti means dashing to the Old city to his maternal grandparents home. The number of kites and the fervour may have come down in the area but it is still the best place to experience kite flying , according to Rajesh. He too is an early learner , it was his mother who handed him the charkha and thread and taught him about wheel and cutting. “It was my excitement that made my mother teach me. She was from the Old city and she and her brothers are good at flying kites. Once she introduced me to kite flying, my uncles almost made me an expert. We used to begin this fun right after Diwali celebrations. On Sankranti day my friends are invited to Old city where we get into the celebratory mood. The girls in the group don’t want to be left behind, so we tape their fingers to avoid serious cuts. Our kites are always bought from friends who make them at home. Commercially available kites aren’t as good as the ones made at home,” says Rajesh Allampally.
