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Pandemic takes the wind out of ‘patangbazi’ in Lucknow
No major kite tangling tournaments this year. Compared to the usual sale of around 4 lakh kites during Diwali, only 30% sale has been recorded due to the pandemic, rising prices of kites and cash crunch among the middle class, say traders
LUCKNOW Amarnath Kaul and his friend Aamir Hussain, both in their sixties and residents of Old City, are preparing for the battle in the skies on Jamghat – the kite-flying festival the day after Diwali. But they are less enthusiastic this year as Covid has cast its shadow over the traditional ‘patangbazi’ in the city with no major competitions slotted for the day.
“Due to corona, there will be no major competitions this year. But several private competitions will be organised either on the rooftops or away from the city limits,” said Kaul, patron of District Kite Clubs Association and eight-time national kite-tangling champion.
He said, “The sale of kites, manjha and saddi has dropped considerably this year as compared to the pre-Covid era. Against the usual sale of around 4 lakh kites during Diwali, only 30% sale has been recorded due to the pandemic, rising prices of kites and cash crunch among the middle class.”
Before the pandemic, over 95 lakh kites were sold annually in Lucknow, out of which 15 lakh were consumed by kite clubs of Lucknow, said kite makers.
Om Prakash Agarwal, 65, of Channa Kite centre said, “I have been into the business of kite making for 45 years but never saw the sales dipping like this. Customers, who used to purchase 100 kites, are giving orders for 30-40 now. Another reason for low sales is the absence of any tournament by the kite clubs. There are around 80 registered and over 300 unregistered kite clubs, having around 21,000 members who used to assemble at various places for kite tangling. But this has not happened for the last two years due to the pandemic.”
Kite making is a highly skilled job, but kite makers earn less than unskilled labour. The government must come out with a package for helping this business,” said Guru Dutt, 46, of Guddu Kite Centre in Chaupatian.
However, Sanjeev Srivastava of Indira Nagar, who was there to purchase kites from Doctor Kite house in Hussaingaj, said: “Both my daughters and other family members are fond of kite flying. But this year, I have purchased only 22 kites against 60 to 70 kites in the past.”
He added, “The prices of kites have increased and income has also reduced due to the pandemic.”
“The tradition of kite flying on Jamghat was started by Nawab Asafuddaula for maintaining close relationship between Hindus and Muslims during his tenure. The Nawabs of Lucknow knew that the two communities will have to remain together forever and they require some common festivals. So they chose Jamghat in which Hindus and Muslims participated with similar enthusiasm, This bonhomie between the two communities has continued since then,” said Shobha Mishra, head of department, Navyug PG College.
