The festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in the presence of Governor OP Kohli and foreign dignitaries. Rupani flew some kites himself and signed the Jadhav petition kite
A kite that carried a mercy plea to Pakistan for the release of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, a kite in the shape of a beer bottle, another that strung a line of the BJP’s party symbol — the lotus — were some of the kites that dotted the skyline of Ahmedabad on Sunday morning as part of the seven-day International Kite Festival.
The festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in the presence of Governor OP Kohli and foreign dignitaries. Rupani flew some kites himself and signed the Jadhav petition kite.
More than 150 kite fliers from over 44 countries apart from 100 from about 19 states around the country participated in the festival with innovative kites, while festival ongoers thronged the venue at NID ground on the Sabarmati riverfront in the city. The festival will go on till January 14.
While the state government on one hand claimed that the kite industry, an unorganised sector hit hard by the Goods and Services Tax, has seen a growth of about 7% this fiscal, some officials said agreed that the growth rate would have seen a better upswing without GST.
Mahesh Chavda from Rajkot, a tailor by profession, said, “I was crazy about kites since I was a child and with my friends founded a kite club. It was just to fly some kites and we never thought anything of it until a decade ago, when one of my friends encouraged me to attend the kite festival. That is when I tried to make big kites. I guess being a tailor also helped because I could stitch things together,” said Chavda.
The group’s biggest kite so far has been one that spreads over 200ft when flown. “It is called a ring kite and it takes 20 people more than 2 months to make and costs Rs2 lakh,” said Chavda.
For, the Incredible Women’s Team from Calicut in Kerala, kite flying is a way of shattering barriers.
“We have formed a women’s kite club as all of us are passionate about kite flying. It is our way of shattering the barriers as many feel that kite flying and women don’t gel well,” said Zeenat Yunus, the captain of the team as she handled a massive kite with the help of her friend Rahel.
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