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Kite fliers go green to spread environ message sky-high
Eco-friendly this Makar Sankranti, people opt for kites made of cloth, cotton and metal paper, and ditch the synthetic material
Makar Sankranti celebrated in mid-January marks the arrival of spring in India. The festival is marked by worshipping the sun god and celebrating the harvest of winter crop. In Maharashtra, sesame seeds (til) is used in worship and sesame sweets are exchanged with the Marathi greeting of, ‘tilgul ghya, god god bola (forget the past ill-feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends)’. The festival is also known for flying kites.
Kite flying plays an important role in the festival, and people across other states too follow this practice. On the morning of Sankrant, you will find families gather on rooftops preparing to fly kites and enjoy the festivities.
One can see colourful kites of various shapes and sizes dotting the skyline in the by-lanes of Raviwar peth. The stores in this lane have displayed many varieties to entice buyers.
AH Kolhapurwale, owner, Royal Patang depot, has a 6ftx4ft kite, which costs Rs1,000. It is not your typical-shaped kite, but is made of cloth. He says, “Families prefer big kites and enjoy the festival together. They opt for paper or cloth ones keeping the environment in mind.”
This year, on Sunday (January 12), Punekars can experience kite flying at an interesting event organised by Suchitra Khandelwal and Trupti Gupta of Entrada, event management company. Suchitra says, “Kite flying holds a lot of religious and cultural significance during Makar Sankranti. We wanted to bring families together to enjoy a different kite flying experience. Pune hasn’t seen such a festival and it’s a great time to bond with the family.”
FLY360, one of the pioneers in kite flying industry that have showcased their products in international kite museum (Washington DC) and Turkish kite museum, will be a part of the event. Giving details about the event, Trupti says, “It’s a village setup with tractor, bullock cart and horse cart rides along with pottery and several games. Besides traditional kite flying, there will be a kite show in the evening, with live band and music and there’s also a hurda party where people enjoy eating roasted tender jowar. The event will be held at Royal Palms, Koregaon Park from 11am-9pm on January 12.”
What’s new?
Saadat Bagwan of Bahar Patang depot juggles while speaking to customers and shows some of the latest designs in the market. “Cartoon characters are a huge hit this season. From Spiderman to Chhota Bheem and Angry Birds, these prints are picked by kids. We have kites from Rs10-Rs300.”
While paper and cloth kites are being picked up, a new material is also gaining popularity — metal paper. Hissan Sayyed of Kazi Patang depot says, “They are lighter and come with nine sticks instead of the regular two sticks. They are better at gliding.”
Siddhant Patil, a student, says, “I have picked same-size Chhota Bheem kites for friends who live in my housing society. We are going to fly them on Sunday and then again on January 15. The winner will get to keep all the kites.”
Sweet delicacies
Makar Sankranti is celebrated across India in different ways and everyone welcomes the new season of harvest in their own indigenous manner. With every celebration comes the sweet delicacies which are prepared. Delicacies include til ke ladoo (sesame seeds ladoo), rewadi (made of jaggery and sesame seeds) and kurmure chikki (made of jaggery and puffed rice).
