The bonny blue sky turned into a colourful sight at Rushikonda on Friday ushering in the Sankranti fervour as a spectrum of colourful kites soared, darted, dived and dipped, buffeting the windy evening by the Bay of Bengal. Decked up in traditional attires, people from all ages came together to be a part of the kite festival organised by Vihar at Rushikonda.
Characterised by bonhomie, the kite festival saw some children try their hands for the first time in kite flying as the elders helped them to sail the colourful kites on the skies. For the holiday crowd that gathered at the beach, it was a sight to behold.
The spirits were kept high with some delicious snacks and mocktails dished out by Vihar and the peppy musical numbers that enlivened the evening.
ADVERTISEMENT
For many, kites are childhood memory and the festival brought back fond memories of the days when kite flying used to be as popular as cricket in the country. “We used to spend our Sankranti holidays with our cousins flying kites from the break of dawn till sunset. Even breakfast and lunch was done on the streets. Today we got to revisit some of our childhood days at the kite festival,” said Anasuya, one of the participants at the kite festival who came with her family. The variety of kites in different shapes and colours was mind-boggling. The children had their clear favourites with cartoon characters like Chota Bheem. Superstars like Rajnikanth and political figures are also featuring in the kites this year. The Beach Road was also teeming with stalls selling kites of different varieties, mostly Chinese ones. “We have set up five stalls on the Beach Road this year and the demand for the Chinese kites has been good. These are easy to fly and most youngsters prefer this,” said Shaik Fareed of FF Kites.