Kite flying is such a joy, when one is young. The ability to put up a kite in the sky, and managing it as it moves to the vagaries of the breeze, is a sheer pleasure.I have retained this joy through the years as my following narrative illustrates.
My first brush with the Kites was in Bombay ( not Mumbai) way back in the 60,s as a young boy,when I saw the skies dotted with kites of various hues,& sizes. Suddenly a few of them would dangle, since they would be cut & float .Hordes of kids and sometimes even grown men would run to catch the falling kites with bamboo sticks tied with thorn bush at the end of it ,to snare the dangling manja thread and the kite attached to it.
It was there my education in Kite flying started , words like Manja – Thread coated with powdered glass to cut the other Kites in a “deal.” ( Thamizh/ Pench in Hindi.)
This education continued in Chennai where I shifted to continue my schooling. I was with my aunt who was a teacher and luckily enough she lived in a house provided by the school in side a big compound. There were other Children of school teachers who became friends who become associates in the Kite flying efforts.This helped me immensely during the Kite flying season ( Pongal /sankarant)
It was there I learned to make Manja by powdering glass from stray glass bottles lying around. Mind you with bare hands and a stone. ( safety measures? Who heard of them then?) Now Manja making by itself is an art. The ingredients used in it were supposed to be secret as it could increase cutting efficiency of the thread in the sky.
But generally the materials consisted of powdered glass , a binding glue called Vajiram, and various secret ingredients . Now in one case I heard that dried dog poo was also used.
The thread was invariably Kite thread made by Madura Coats.There was two types of Manja making. One was known as Kai Manja ( making Manja by hand) & Kathadi Manja ( making manja by Kite)
Kai Manja was made by tying the strands of the thread across two trees/poles etc tautly and taking the manja paste which consisted of glass power mixed in Vajiram , the secret ingredients mixed in colour; in a cloth and rub on the strands of thread evenly . This took some patience and was time consuming. Of course there was cuts on the hand, which one had to conceal or get whacked at home Making Manja itself was a frowned upon activity by many parents.
Kathadi Manja was made by tying a big paper tail to a Bana kathadi ( Big Kite).The Manja mixture was put in a big tin and the ball of thread dropped in it, whose one end was tied to the Kite . The Kite was then flown ,and as the Kite flew higher one held the thread with the cloth dipped in the mixture , and as the thread moved with the Kite flying higher the mixture was evenly coated, but the cuts were more in the process especially the forefinger which held the thread. So one wrapped the forefinger with a thick cloth. Incidently theunwritten code of honour among kite flyers , was not to go on a deal( pench) with a Manja making Kite , which of course was recognised by a long tail on the Kite.
Thereby the Manja got made and the as the Kite was pulled down , the white thread which was now became Manja was rolled into a ball. ( no firkis in the south).
The Kite itself was invariably bought out from the shops. Kite making is also a sklll , and many families across traditionally Kite flying cities having been making Kites for years.It requires bamboo sticks to be shaved to the correct smoothness and size depending on the size of the Kites. The coloured Kite paper cut to the requisite sizes and the bamboo stick stuck firmly diagonally across the paper creating a spine. A curved bamboo stick is placed like a bow across the spine and the edges stuck. The corners of the paper are then lined with a thin thread and stuck along the borders so that the paper does not tear in the air.
One of the main skills is tying of the Sutram ( Thamizh), the string tied to the kite so as to hold and balance the Kite. Many people have various formulae.Three fingers kept on the top and two at the bottom is popular and the string tied . The top being at the junction where the bow meets the spine , and at the lower bottom of the kite. Once tied one edge of the Manja can be tied to the Sutram string. The kite is now ready to fly.
The flying of the kite requires the Kite to be taken to some distance( about 5 to 6 ft ) by a friend and one waits for a slight wind, the minute the wind comes the kite is lifted and left and the kite flier then takes charge and pulls away the kite , managing it , and letting it go higher.Invariably Terraces/Rooftops of houses are a good place to fly Kites
Once the Kite is up, one was ready to do the “deal’ ( Kite duel) with other Kites. One challenged the competitors Kite by pulling close to him, he too would respond and the thread would get entangled and both let loose the threads ,as the wind propelled the kites higher, the kites were in deal and eventually one kite would be cut. More skill was exhibited by some in pulling the thread rapidly which created a sawing movement which cut the competitor’s Kite.
The pleasure was immense with your friends cheering you as one cut a Kite and a pall of silence as your Kite got cut.
And as the song goes – Those were the days my friend, I thought they would never end ….
But end it did, as one got caught up in living life. After my tour of duty in the Army , I restarted my career in Sales & Marketing which by itself was an rare thing in the late 70’s & early 80’s. ( Today it is a different story)I built my career with a zeal. During that course,I landed up in Ahmedabad as a regional head of a HCL company. To my surprise when Uttarayan came in January, the sky was alive with kites. Yes, Kite flying was/is a great tradition in Gujarat, celebrated as a festival and members of the families participating in Kite flying.
Viola!! there I was back again. we had wonderful time , when I had my whole team from the office on my terrace for Kite flying and of course with lots of beer. Talk of team building, which these days, is getting companies tieing themselves up in knots over this.
Then my career took me out of the country for over a decade plus putting my Kite flying at abeyance. When I came back duly with grey hair and immense management experience, handling people of different nationalities ,I took up a senior management assignment in Hyderabad. Challenging work with lot of travel in India & abroad.
But to my delight the Secunderabad Club where I took up membership had Kite flying during Sankranti festival. So back to the Kite flying ways which I immensely enjoyed and even taught many a youngster to fly a Kite!
So the years passed by and once I decided to hang up my boots, came the Covid which hastened my decision, and I moved with my wife to a Senior retirement community on the outskirts of Coimbatore. For six months we got acclimatized to the different pace of life and people .
After six months passed and finally when Pongal arrived, my kite flying instincts revived and I arranged to get kites & thread ( this time no Manja) Imagine my pleasure when I put up the Kite & flew it. My joy knew no bounds and my kite flying instincts were intact.
My spirits lifted & I know the future looks bright.
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