By: Aishika Banerjee
KOLKATA: Flying kites during this time of the year has always been an integral part of growing up in a Bengali neighbourhood. The charm has ebbed in the time of PUBG and social media boom, but the rooftop sport has survived the onslaught of technology. And, while doing so, it has has undergone several changes to stay relevant.
Among the primary changes, the most notable has been the introduction of plastic kites and the more dangerous Chinese manja. “Plastic kites are more popular these days. These are shiny, colourful and are extremely affordable for the children of this generation,” said 50-year-old Manosh Kumar Roy, a daily customer at Bengal Kites, who has been flying kites since he was 12.
For Souvik Ghosh, a fifth-generation kite shop owner, the tradition marks the beginning of the festive season.
“It is like buying new clothes for Durga Puja. Flying a kite on any other evening of the year is not anywhere like flying a kite on Viswakarma Puja. We still see grandfathers coming to our shop with their grandchildren and recalling stories of how their own grandfathers taught them how to hold a manja,” said of Air-Play Gobinda at Shyambazar’s Fariapukur.
Kite-flying, according to many, has lost its appeal to the millennials but strangely, boys are still coming back to the shops to purchase kites, multiple times every day. “Apart from flying them, people have started using kites as a decorative element. The beautiful colours that adorned the sky are now being put up on strings and stuck on walls at different fairs and Puja pandals,” said 45-year-old Nepal Das, owner of Mithun Kites, at Bowbazar.
Ghosh, however, believes that any drastic change brought into the manufacturing of kites can prove to be fatal and, in the bigger picture, defeat the whole point of having a culture of its own. “Flying kites using artificial sharp lining manjas is like wearing a dhoti that has an elastic waistband. It defies what the game of kites is all about. It is like the game of chess, strategy is the most important, there is no place for the shortcuts that these manjas provide,” said Ghosh.
KOLKATA: Flying kites during this time of the year has always been an integral part of growing up in a Bengali neighbourhood. The charm has ebbed in the time of PUBG and social media boom, but the rooftop sport has survived the onslaught of technology. And, while doing so, it has has undergone several changes to stay relevant.
Among the primary changes, the most notable has been the introduction of plastic kites and the more dangerous Chinese manja. “Plastic kites are more popular these days. These are shiny, colourful and are extremely affordable for the children of this generation,” said 50-year-old Manosh Kumar Roy, a daily customer at Bengal Kites, who has been flying kites since he was 12.
For Souvik Ghosh, a fifth-generation kite shop owner, the tradition marks the beginning of the festive season.
“It is like buying new clothes for Durga Puja. Flying a kite on any other evening of the year is not anywhere like flying a kite on Viswakarma Puja. We still see grandfathers coming to our shop with their grandchildren and recalling stories of how their own grandfathers taught them how to hold a manja,” said of Air-Play Gobinda at Shyambazar’s Fariapukur.
Kite-flying, according to many, has lost its appeal to the millennials but strangely, boys are still coming back to the shops to purchase kites, multiple times every day. “Apart from flying them, people have started using kites as a decorative element. The beautiful colours that adorned the sky are now being put up on strings and stuck on walls at different fairs and Puja pandals,” said 45-year-old Nepal Das, owner of Mithun Kites, at Bowbazar.
Ghosh, however, believes that any drastic change brought into the manufacturing of kites can prove to be fatal and, in the bigger picture, defeat the whole point of having a culture of its own. “Flying kites using artificial sharp lining manjas is like wearing a dhoti that has an elastic waistband. It defies what the game of kites is all about. It is like the game of chess, strategy is the most important, there is no place for the shortcuts that these manjas provide,” said Ghosh.
Quick Links
Lok Sabha Election Schedule 2019Lok Sabha Election NewsDelhi Capitals teamMI team 2019Rajasthan Royals 2019RCB team 2019Maharashtra Lok Sabha ConstituenciesBJP Candidate ListBJP List 2019 TamilnaduShiv Sena List 2019AP BJP List 2019Mamata BanerjeeBJP List 2019 MaharashtraPriyanka GandhiBJP List 2019 KarnatakaAMMK Candidate List 2019BJP List 2019 WBLok Sabha Elections in Tamil NaduBSP List 2019 UPNews in TamilLok Sabha Poll 2019Satta Matka 2018PM ModiMahagathbandhanNagpur BJP Candidate ListChandrababu NaiduTamil Nadu ElectionsUrmila MatondkarNews in TeluguMadras High CourtTejashwi YadavArvind KejriwalTejasvi SuryaPawan KalyanArvind KejriwalYogi AdityanathJaya PradaSatta King 2019Srinagar encounter
Get the app