Kite is the Limit

Jewels in the sky

From being the timeless emblem of love in Hindi movies to my fondest recollections of notorious cheers of “Bo-Kata” (loosely meaning ‘a kite cut off’), to our neighbors across the roof, my fascination for these fluttering jewels in the sky recently found another outlet. Names like Danda, Pari, Chand Tara, Shakkar Para, Chhapan Chhuri, Adhiya, Tiranga, Patiyal reminded me of the milieu of designs and shapes.

Vibrant Kites

Glossing through my photo album the other day, snapshots of kites painted in vivid hues, shapes and patterns, dotting the summer sky, caught my eye. I was transported back to the countless visits to India Gate on summer evenings, asking the vendor for the biggest, brightest kite he had from his kitty of numerous fancy wonders. My constant companion to the celebrations of Independence Day, Raksha Bandhan and Makar Sankranti, would be spent at my cousin’s house’ terrace, engaging in boisterous ‘patang-baazi’. Scurrying and sneaking for the ‘manjha’, the string tied to the kite, and the ‘charkha’ or ‘hujki’ -the wood and bamboo roll on which the string is wound, I have never gotten over these vivid wonders rising up from rooftops, fluttering against the backdrop of the blue sky.