With a 550-km-long coastline and around a hundred beaches, Kerala should ideally be a regular kite-flying destination. However, but for a few lone attempts in Kappad, Kochi and recently in Bekal, there has never been a large-scale kite festival in the State. The best known international kite festival in India is ‘Uttarayan’ in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, while States like Karnataka and Telangana too have some lesser known events. Globally, international kite festivals in Beijing and Weifang in China every April are the best known.
All that is going to change soon with the international kite festival that will be held in the second week of September on the historic Kozhikode Beach.
The Calicut International Kite Festival is being organised by Kozhikode’s very own One India Kite Team that has represented the State and the country in various international kite festivals across the globe and bagged many prizes.
“The Kozhikode Beach is appropriate for a kite festival and we plan to utilise it properly for tourism,” said Abdulla Maliyekkal, Captain of the One India Kite Team. The team had proposed the idea to the Department of Tourism a few years ago. The recent visit of 30 bloggers from all over the world as part of the Kerala Blog Express Season 4 by the Kerala Tourism, and their participation in a kite-flying event at Kozhikode Beach, was a shot in the arm for the organisers, who worked hard to obtain the required approval.
Boost to tourism
“We need such events to promote Kozhikode as a tourism destination,” said District Collector U.V. Jose, who expressed his wholehearted support for the event. “The district administration and the District Tourism Promotion Council will definitely support the event,” he added.
The One India Kite Team is to meet the Collector on Wednesday for discussions regarding the event.
The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has also extended its complete support for the event after the organisers had a discussion with Mayor Thottathil Raveendran and Corporation secretary Mrinmayee Joshi on Tuesday. However, the event is still in planning stage and the particulars are yet to be known. An organising committee will soon be formed after discussions with the Corporation and the District Collector.
Mr. Maliyekkal said that around 15,000 people, including students and Kudumbasree workers, would take part in the festival, which would have noted kite-flyers and experts from all over the world showcasing their massive kites.
