Kites of various sizes, shapes and colours soared high in the sky as the enthusiasts let loose the strings as per the direction of the wind at the kite festival organised marking the Sankranti festival, near the Gokul Park on Tuesday.
Score of visitors enjoyed the festival amid the foot-tapping numbers played by DJ Rajesh and the lip-smacking Rajasthani delicacies.
Theme-based kites
The kites dotting the skyline over the RK Beach caught the attention of the passers-by. Kite sellers did a brisk business selling the kites and thread bundles. Kites designed like ‘Nagini’ (serpent), octopus, eagle, some with multiple tails and others with cartoon characters caught the fancy of children and adults alike.
Some had messages such as ‘Beti Padao, Beti Bachao’ and ‘Maa Tujhe Salam’ on them. The kite festival, organised by the Agarwal Mahasabha, had something to offer to everyone.
The participants danced to the tunes of new and old melodies. The festival crowd enjoyed hot kesar jalebi, samosa, kachori, dhokla and masala muri.
“The big Naagini kite, priced at ₹1,200, was the costliest one to be sold at this festival. A pink-coloured octopus kite, costing ₹3,000, had no takers. So, we flew it ourselves,” said a representative of the FF Kites of China Waltair, who is in the kite business for the past 15 years.
“The kite festival, being organised for nearly a decade, is witnessing a growing patronage with each passing year. Our idea is to promote kite flying in a big way in Visakhapatnam on the lines of the kite festivals in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra,” said Agarwal Mahasabha joint secretary Naresh Agarwal.
‘No Chinese manja’
“The City Police and the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) are cooperating in the conduct of the festival. We have plans to take the festival to the international-level if the Tourism Department supports us. Vizag is a cosmopolitan city with people from different States making it their home. Further, local people are also evincing a keen interest and enjoying various traditions and cultures,” Mr. Naresh said.
“We have made all-out efforts to insist on use of Indian-made manja and discouraged the use of Chinese manja, which is dangerous,” he added. Mahasabha president Narayan Agarwal and secretary Manoj Goel were present on the occasion.
