Kite Festival 2019: It was one helluva Sankranti party

A riot of colours enveloped the city sky as the 4th edition of the International Kite Festival kicked off amidst much fanfare at Parade Grounds on Sunday. With 42 professional kite flyers from 20 countries putting on a spectacular show, it was a visual treat for onlookers who watched awestruck as hundreds of quirky, colourful kites dotted the skyline.

There were kites of all shapes and sizes — some modelled after popular superhero characters and others, shaped like animals and flowers, to name a few. The major attraction though was a ‘Gangnam Style’ kite, which was brought all the way from South Korea.

Some depicting the natives of the Indonesian Papua tribe and another designed as a giant 10 ft-long $100 bill too were a hit with the crowd. Out of the several kites from Thailand, the teddy bear kite and a red, bouncy ball shaped kite stood out.

After the sunset, a slew of LED-lit kites dazzled in the night sky. Gujarat-based Nitesh, who has a collection of a whopping 350 varieties, entertained the audience with huge triangular kites that sparkled up in the air. However, it was the remote-controlled kites which flew without any strings attached; that were the most hi-tech of the lot.

“Kite flying is like meditation. It’s a peaceful feeling when you see a kite fly in the sky. You can let go of all your worries and let them fly away with the wind just like a kite does. We travel across the world, thanks to our passion for kites and meet different people who share our interest. It’s great to be here in Telangana for this festival,” shares Ron, who came from Thailand to be a part of the event in Hyderabad.
Oppan Gangnam Style high up in the sky!

This patang that brought a smile on everyone’s faces and how. Designed to look like the popular Korean pop star, Psy, this kite, was created by Won Yurok, a Korean
kite-flyer and the director of the festival. Weighing about 5 Kgs, this kite was a major draw at the event. Yurok says, “In my hometown, Uiseong, kite flying is a poor man’s sport that infuses a sense of freedom in the flyer. Kite flying also teaches us an important life lesson — just like how a kite needs good wind to fly, people need good friends to live. Today, I have made many friends globally, thanks to all the kite festivals I have visited and I love doing that because I get to meet new people and enjoy different cultures and traditions.”
A Great Gig in the sky:

The sky over Parade grounds offered a spectacle to behold — thanks to kites resembling a slew of superheroes, popular movie characters, aquatic and terrestrials animals and so on. If Superman was hovering over your head, so was Charlie Chaplin and Nemo with friendly octopuses and an army of giant white giant pandas.
The ‘no-strings-attached’ kites from Singapore

Another highlight of the festival were the ‘no-strings-attached’ kites that were flown using remote controls. Michael Lim, the founder of the company which designs these kites, says, “We have two teams of kite-flyers — Night Flyers and Sky Dancers. We are the first to create kites with no strings that can be flown using remote controls. These kites also come with LED lights and weigh about 300 to 500 grams each. This is our second time after 2017 at the International Kite Festival in Telangana.”
LED kites that lit up the night sky

The LED-lit kites weren’t just there to glitter in the Hyderabad skyline. They also pulled out some stunts in the air that left the crowd awestruck. In one of the stunts, a series of kites glided through the air without colliding with each other at any point. One LED-lit kite, shaped like a wristband, had the Italian capital Rome imprinted on it, along with popular landmarks from the European city, sure made a big impression on the night sky.

Nagpur’s award-winning kites
Gulab Chand Jangid, a carpenter from Nagpur, left onlookers awestruck with his award-winning series of giant kites. In the evening, he pulled off another surprise when he flew LED-lit kites high into the night sky. He says, “Kites are my favourite things. I developed a passion for it since childhood and that drove me to design my own varieties. I get invited to several festivals in and around India and wherever I go people flock to see my kites. Though kite flying is a good source of income, I never took my passion as a business venture.”
Inputs: PV Sunayana