The clownfish and the octopus were flying side by side on the skies of Beypore on Monday afternoon. But the kids were most interested in the duck, Batman and Spiderman, who were strung together like beads of the same necklace.
The National Kite Festival featuring kites from 13 States was the key attraction on Monday, the second day of Beypore Water Fest. The kite festival is organised under the aegis of One India Kite Team which has won accolades in many international kite festivals across the world, and has members from most Indian States. The 60-foot-kite of the team that bagged the first prize in Dubai International Kite Festival a few years ago was one of the key attractions of the evening.
The three-day kite festival will have kite flyers vying for the top spot in various categories. The height of flying and the design of the kites are the main criterion for the competition.
Flyboard demo at Beypore Water Fest on Monday.
Meanwhile, kite surfing, the art of balancing a kite standing on a surfboard, was demonstrated by Philip Dartnel from the U.K. He even trained a few local kite flyers on how to balance the kite that required great strength as it moved fast from one direction to the other.
Earlier, P.Prasad, Minister for Agriculture, opened the kite festival amidst cheering by the crowd of spectators who had come from far and wide to witness the massive kites taking off. Though the lighter kites soared high, the heavier and bigger ones did not rise up much owing to poor wind. In another part, large gatherings were seen along the Marina and the breakwater to witness several water-related competitions. Sit on top kayaking, white water kayaking, stand up paddle race and rod fishing were among the competitions on Monday. Several adventurous water sports such as flying board were demonstrated under the aegis of Jelly Fish water sports. They also demonstrated their brand new Churulan Vallam. Meanwhile, Naval ship INS Kabra has been thrown open to the public for the whole day. Later, it was seen illuminated.
The festival will draw to a close on Wednesday.
