Fewer kite makers from UP reach Jaipur due to Covid-19

JAIPUR: No Makar Sakranti is complete without kite and manjha makers from Rampur and Bareilly in UP, who come to the Pink City as their products are in much demand by the kite lovers here. However, the scene is different this year.
These UP kite makers stay in Jaipur as tenants two months prior to Makar Sakranti. But this time, they have not been accorded the same hospitality in the Walled City.Fewer kite makers have arrived in Jaipur due to the pandemic and lack of accommodation facilities.
One reason being that areas like Ramganj and MD Road in the Walled City had been epicenters of Covid-19.
Places like Muslim Musafirkhana and a few cheaper hotels and guests houses on the MD Road have accommodated them.
“I had called up one landlord in Ramganj where we had been staying for past so many years ahead of Makar Sakranti. This time, they have not allowed us. Since we had already planned to come we are staying at Muslim Musafirkhana,” Anees Ahamad, a 40-year-old kite manufacturer and trader from Bareilly told TOI on Sunday.
On the other hand, local traders are directly getting kites and manjhas from Uttar Pradesh. “It is a better and safer option. But, yes the number of kites from Rampur and Bareilly are lesser this year as many makers preferred not to come may be because accommodation was a problem,” said Kishan Agarwal, a wholesale kite trader at Chandpole Bazaar.
“We wait every year to visit Jaipur which is the biggest market for kites. We have taken a shop on rent in Handipura locality and started selling kites since January 4 onwards,” said Riyazuddin, a native of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
Those who are fond of kites from Uttar Pradesh are seen thronging these places especially Muslim Musafirkhana, MD Road and Handipura to get the best lot of kites.