The International Kite Festival of Telangana was off to a soaring start with a range of flying objects in the sky on Thursday at People’s Plaza in the city. Kite enthusiasts from 15 countries are part of the festival organised by the Telangana Tourism Department.
If earlier in the evening, Kitai Rhee and Kang Man Lee from South Korea held the huge audience enthralled with their dozens of kites strung on a single thread doing various tricks, it was at twilight that the citizens watched in amazement the robotic kites taking off into the sky.
Flown by a team of eight members from Singapore, the kites were remote-controlled with flashing LEDs placed at key locations.
“The smaller kites weigh 200 gms while the bigger dragon kite weighs 500 gms. These are different from drones as they have propellers while we use parts of the kite to manoeuvre them in the sky using remote controls,” said Michael Lim, who heads the team of goflykite.com .
For the hundreds of people who thronged the area, the kites trailing and flashing LED lights were a sight to watch as they moved in synchrony and performed aerobatics as Mr. Lim’s team members used the gimbals to control their movement.
Aga Khan Academy
Inaugurated by Telangana Tourism Minister Azmeera Chandulal, the kite festival moves to Aga Khan Academy on the outskirts of the city for three days between January 13 and 15.
Festival at Yadagirigutta
On January 16, the kite enthusiasts would take the festival to Yadagirigutta and on January 17, it would be held in Warangal.
