Craftsmen from Bareilly, made in Jaipur

JAIPUR: Gone are the days when traders of Jaipur used to bring in truckloads of kites from Bareilly and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh for genuine kite lovers and 'ustaads' of the city.
In bid to make the business more economically viable, many traders have hired kite makers of Bareilly to design and produce quality 'patang' locally.

Labourers from famed kite manufacturers of Bareilly and Rampur have been brought to Jaipur to make them here.

Major kite markets, including those in Handipura, Haldiyon Ka Raasta, Jhotwara, Murlipura and Kishanpole Bazaar, are full of kites made by the labourers from UP.

Most of them were brought to the city in November itself to complete the orders given by local traders as well as those from districts such as Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Churu where there's a huge demand, starting a fortnight prior to the auspicious occasion of Makar Sakranti.

On reasons why the local traders are not buying directly from UP, Ravi Khandelwal, a wholesale kite trader in Jhotwara, said, "From December, places, including Rampur and Bareilly, witness moderate to heavy fog. Every year, loads of kites get damaged as trucks bringing these kites come via Delhi. So, we contacted the UP producers and asked them to send their workers here to make kites for us."

Akhtar Hussain, a wholesale kite trader at Handipura, said that the state has a big market for kites as they were flown almost around the year on various occasions. "In places like Alwar, Ajmer and Dausa, people fly kites during Raksha Bandhan. In Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu and Bikaner, they are flown on the occasion of Makar Sakranti. And many other districts fly them on August 15 like in Delhi. So, the traders here have engaged craftsman from UP," Hussain added.

However, some local traders try cheat by selling 'fake' UP kites. "Some stick rubber stamps of kite manufactures of Bareilly. So, kites which are actually made by local craftsmen are stamped as manufactured in Bareilly," said Suraj Saini, a wholesale dealer at Haldiyon Ka Raasta.

But traders said that genuine kite lovers can differentiate between both. "UP ki patang ka bans thoda kala seeka hua hota hai (The bamboo used in UP kites has been treated using fire)," said Anil Pandey, a kite lover.

The most popular Kites from UP includes 'adhha', 'pauna', 'aadha', 'dedh kanni' and 'danda'.