The giant ‘Tweety’ flying in the sky was a natural crowd-puller. People who had come to enjoy their Sunday evening on the Kozhikode beach were drawn towards the enormous kite due to obvious reasons.
But when they knew the kite was being flown to anchor a protest against war in Gaza and in general, they gladly joined hands with the organisers and cried out at their top voices ‘Save Gaza. We don’t want any more war’.
Their way of protest“Artist protest by painting. Writers write to express their protest. We protest in a way we could,” said Abdulla Maliyekkal, founder and CEO of One India Kite Team that has made it big in many an international kite festival.
Favourite toy“Hundreds of children are dying in Gaza. The kite being a favourite toy of children, is dedicated to them,” Mr. Maliyekkal added.
The kite flying session had a damp start with the pilot kite, a replica of the Indian National Flag, got entangled in an electric post. But the visual treat exhibited later made up for it.
The giant duck, identified as a popular cartoon character ‘Tweety’ was the next. This kite, designed by the One India Kite team and manufactured by Peter Linen in New Zealand, had bagged the second prize for best design at the International Kite Festival in Weifang, China in 2013. “The kite made using nylon has 80 cells in it and was made at a cost of Rs.75,000,” Mr.Maliyekkal said.
Fifteen membersFifteen members of the One India team, including Shabeer Unity, Rajesh.K and Anoop.K.Francis had been at the venue to take part in the protest. Mr.Maliyekkal said that Kerala was the best location for kite flying in the country. But ironically, the Kerala government did not support it much.
“We would like a kite festival to be included in the tourism department’s annual calendar,” he added.