Lucknow: The grounds have shrunk as population has grown but rooftops are still there.
For kite-flyers, ‘Jamghat’ festival, this year, has been mostly confined to rooftops.
The festival that is traditionally held a day after Diwali, has had an extra day this year due to the solar eclipse.
Kite flyers are taking full advantage of the extended festival holidays and are busy indulging in their passion.
“We have stopped going to the large grounds because of the restrictions imposed by the district administration and harassment by the cops. The cops insist we are using Chinese ‘manjha’ (kite string) and threaten to book us if we do not pay them. It is safer to remain on our rooftops,” says Asif Ali, a software engineer and a passionate kite flyer.
This year, kites have not only made the horizon more colourful but have also moved beyond politics.
While kites with photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remain popular, it is now star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and cricketer Virat Kohli whose faces find a place in kites.
“We are very careful in designing kites because you never know what sparks off a controversy. We made very few kites with Virat Kohli’s face but all of them were a sell-out,” says Lal Nawab, a kite maker.
Nawab insists that kite making is an art and not a business.
“Unless the frame is perfectly balanced, the kite will not fly properly. People come to me because they know that they get the best kites here,” he says.
Interestingly, professional kite-flyers still prefer the local handmade ones to their imported contemporary.
Hundreds of kites resembling butterflies, dragons, fish and birds flutter in the Lucknow sky, particularly in the old city where Hindus, Muslims and others come together to celebrate the festival of ‘Jamghat’.
“Jamghat is a festival that helps maintain social relationships. We fly kites with our neighbours, irrespective of caste and religion and exchange food and sweets,” says Zaheer Asad.
According to a popular belief, Jamghat started off as a hobby when Lucknow was ruled by the Nawabs almost two centuries ago. Now it has become a tradition that has a large number of followers of different age groups and from all religions.
–IANS