Kite fliers have a field day

It was a grand colourful spectacle at the kite festival organised by Bala Vikas Foundation at MGM Selvee World. Several kite enthusiasts gathered at the venue to take part in the contest.

The skies were filled with kites, the beach with people and the air, with exhilaration.

The kite festival was inaugurated by MLA V.R.K. Babu.

Participants came not just to give a tough fight to the other competitors but also to display their fancy collections of kites from different parts of the world at the festival.

The organisers also kept lot of stalls of kites and other paraphernalia at the venue. The place was teeming with jubilant kite-flyers who kept their eyes glued to the sky with the sole intent of getting their kite to stay up while leaving the others floating about with sliced strings.

Innovative shapes

The kites were worth a look for their size and the different innovative designs — there was a kite in the form of a grand ship that sailed in the blue backdrop of the sky, an eagle that soared magnificently and another that looked like a demon carrying a shield.

Among the lot it was the grand ship-shaped kite of R. Ramamohan Roy that finally won the first prize.

“I had got the kite as a gift from Indonesia.

It is made of fine silk cloth and is a great pleasure to see it soar in the sky,” says Roy. He has a collection of interesting shaped kites from Indonesia.

“Kite flying used to be almost as popular as cricket some years ago. We used to stay at the beach the whole day and fly kites,” recalled Suri, a participant. Many old-timers enjoyed the day to the fullest and aptly showed their prowess in kite-flying.

Mythical dimension

Kites made their first appearance over three thousand years ago in China. Bamboo was used for the frame and silk for the sail.

The kites had a mythical and religious dimension. During World War – II, kites were also used as gunnery targets.