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| Edited By: |Source: |Updated: Nov 19, 2013, 11:17 PM IST
This year the patangwalas’ sales have hit an all-time low. Radhika Raj meets what probably is the last generation of kite-makers.
In one of the crowded bylanes of Bhendi Bazaar lies a small shop that belongs to one of Mumbai’s oldest kite merchants. It also happens to be the world’s largest kite producing units.
The venerable owner, 76-year-old Shabam M Khan, holds up a crisp new kite, nimbly bends the edges and breaks into a smile. “This one is just perfect.
In the right hands, this kite will soar higher than any kite sold in Mumbai.” Khan has to shout to be heard over the noise his workers are creating. “It is season time and we are busy stacking our fresh new Twenty20 and Om Shanti Om variety,” he says.
Few passersby are taking notice of all the excitement. No buyers are walking in either. “My kites might be flying, but my sales are dipping,” says Khan. His shop, The Indian Fighter Kites, has lost more than 50 per cent of its business over the last four years.
The chipped walls of his store carry photographs of what Khan calls the golden years. He recalls the days when Dilip Kumar would personally come to pick him up for a kite flying afternoon.
“All of Bhendi Bazaar used to gather around his car. I was also invited as chief guest to a kite flying festival in Switzerland back in 1996 to teach the art.” But the glory days have passed him by. “Now, I am trying to make ends meet,” says Khan.
Kite flying, once a favourite pastime of the rich and the poor, is fading into obscurity. The number of kite merchants in the city has reduced by almost half — most have left for greener pastures, others have ventured into different professions. A few years ago, Mamadwadi in Bandra used to be one of Mumbai’s most colourful lanes.
More than 12 kite stores displayed a variety of Indian fighter kites and kept plenty more in stock to meet the demands of the customers. Today, there are just four shops left, of these two say that this might just be their last few years in the business.
“We have been around for so long that our surnames have been changed to ‘Patangwala’,” says Ahmed Kazi Patangwala. “Our kites would start selling in August the moment the rains eased up.
During Diwali holidays, our sales shot up. Ten days before Sankranti we would sell close to 20,000 kites a day. Now, it’s already the first week of January and I’ve barely managed to sell 1,000 kites today,” he says.
Patangwala blames television, examinations, builders, and even global warming, for the losses he is incurring. He points out that children have no time today as there is an exam every week. When they do find time, they are slouching in front of their TV and computers.
The rising city towers and cable wires have made it impossible for the remaining few enthusiasts to fly kites. “Find me an open free piece of blue sky today.
There is none. Every kite we try to fly gets entangled in these big billboards, towers and cable wires. Where will the children go? And to top it all, it rained heavily in September last year. We’ve lost two months of business because of the climate change” says Patangwala.
Kite maker Shamshed Ahemad has another set of problems. He cannot find a good craftsman anymore. “For the average person, a kite is just some tissue paper and stick, glued together.
Most do not know that the craftsmen are called from Kolkata, the manja comes from Bareilly, Rajasthan and the stick comes from West Bengal.
But few craftsmen from Kolkata are willing to come here now; the ones available have hiked their rates. Even the price of the bamboo stick has increased, but still people expect us to sell the patang for a rupee,” he complains.
The frustration amongst the merchants is evident as they are helpless against cheaper, more durable Chinese imports. The Chinese cloth kite, they say, is eating into the Indian fighter kite’s market. In better times, Patangwala exported his kites to Taiwan, United States and UK.
Now he is forced to import kites from China to meet the changing demands. He believes that a kite flying festival in the city is the only way to save this dying art, and is planning to get in touch with actor Shahrukh Khan to help promote a kite festival.
“Our children refuse to carry on the business we have been running for generations now. My children work in call centres; there are larger opportunities there. You are looking at the last generation of kite makers in Mumbai.”
