CHENNAI: Before the 70-km ride from Chennai to Mahabalipuram, the kite festival was only an idea to me a few colourful kites flying high and children enjoying the sight. Little did I know that it would be nothing like I ever imagined. The first Tamil Nadu International Kite Festival (TNIK) from August 13-15, organised by Global Media Box in association with the state tourism department, was a conglomeration of people from different parts of the world exhibiting their passion resulting in a colourful wave of patterns and images on the blue sky. Benedict Savio, founder of Global Media Box, said,
“The plan was to organise a family carnival with inflatable show kites, not the fighter ones. We found the best teams from four countries — India, Malaysia, Thailand and USA to fly their kites.”
Varieties on display
Around 100 kites were on the display from all the six Indian teams and four foreign teams. K Srinivas of the Hyderabad team representing Kohinoor Kite Club described his collection of kites as “the ones which represent history, technology and innovation”. Taking pride in India, they displayed kites of Bhagat Singh and Swami Vivekananda. His collection also included LED, Trilobite (a small version of the Megabite, the largest kite), spinner and ring kites.
Digant Joshi from Vadodara Kite Club, Gujarat, made children gape in awe with his long list of cartoon characters on the sky Chhota Bheem, Dholu, Bholu, Chutki, and Bal Ganesh. The highlight of his collection, however, was the map of Hogwarts from Harry Potter, painted on a flat kite designed by his daughter and architect, Pavani Joshi. He also displayed his model rocket created by his own company Aerosports Association. With a total collection of 17 kites, he performed wonders in the sky.
While most of the kite flyers designed their kites, they didn’t forget to reflect on the art and culture of the place they were coming from. Shriniketh Rao representing the Mangalore Team brought south Indian traditional kites that include symbols of Kathakali and Pushpaka Vimana. “We take our inspiration from Hindu mythology. Kites representing characters like Vibhishana, Gajaraja, and Garuda will also impart knowledge about our culture to everyone who comes and visits the festival,” he said.
Sandesh Kaddi High Flyers Belgaum is also a firm believer of portraying art through kites. He specialises in flying kites of different geometrical shapes taking its root from Chittara folk painting of Karnataka. Apart from this, he also exhibited inflated kites of lion, tiger and cartoon character Mario for the kids.
Bringing amusement from foreign land, the kites from other countries were colourful unions of birds, dolphins and dragons, and geckos. Mal Brooks from the USA who has been flying kites for more than 20 years shared that since his only intention is to make people smile wherever they see his kites, his kites don’t have any particular meaning. He and his wife Pirawan from Thailand splashed warm colours on the clear sky with their trilobites.
Behind the wonders
From Ashok Shah who made kites from scratch to participate in International festivals representing India to Mal Brooks who travels around the world collecting kites, the kite flyers bonded over their mutual love for kites. Sharing the challenges they faced while starting their kite journey, Ashok said, “Earlier, India didn’t have any fancy kites other than the fighter kites. It was difficult for us to even research how to make inflatable kites as there was no material available. After researching from the basics using both Indian and imported books, learning from other kite makers, experimenting a lot and trying out materials from paper to nylon, we now have managed to create the best kites in the world.”
The kites are made from ripstop nylon, a similar material used for parachutes, which according to Ashok is easy to cut and stitch. Additional materials like fibreglass rod, carbon rod or bamboo are preferred for support as they are lightweight and durable. With height ranging from 1 foot to 200 feet, these kites cost from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5 lakh. “The costs are high because we only use high tech material. When we merge different kites together the price can even go up to `80 lakh. Since people use these types of kites the most, we don’t mind spending money to curate the best experience,” he shared, pointing to the vibrant ring kites arranged horizontally.
As the day ended, Benedict summed up, “By witnessing the huge rush of the entries, we hope to conduct the event next year as a 10-day carnival with even more kites.”
A creative way to thank
To thank the Tamil Nadu Government and the people, Ashok Shah from Maharashtra of Fly 360, customised the kite of poet Thiruvalluvar. He also brought his collections of a flat box, mini, 3D, ton, four line, inflatable and ring kites. The event which had witnessed more than 5,000 registrations will return next year with even more fun.