So back to the 14^th January; a day when same day is celebrated in different forms across the country and for Jaipur its Makar Sankranti and a day of Kite flying. And not just flying to do a formality as is done on most of the festivals now, but with full zest, people reach on top of their buildings loaded with a thick stack of kites and few roles of thread. They have good amount of plane thread which is tied to the sharp thread called maanjha. The maanjha is tied with kite and when the kite reaches high enough, the flyer ties the plane thread which is of course easy on hands.

In the outer area, you will not be amazed at the number of kites in the sky at any point during the day but in the walled and old city of Jaipur, my goodness- you will only be thrilled to see the blue sky painted with vibrant tiny square points. Few big and others small, few fly for fun while others get involved in a war. Every now and then, you get to hear a loud cheer from the team that manages to crash other’s kite and the day goes on and on.

Unlike always, the day begun with a fog and very dense fog all around. Enthusiasts were disappointed initially but soon the sun prevailed and the sky, though cloudy became apt for kite business.

And where youngsters are involved, plane noise and cheers do not help so loud speakers were put to service. Good thing is you can hear different music from all the directions but their fusion would make you feel irritated at times.

Busy with flying kids didn’t bother for their lunch or any food. At times, they would pick few snacks and forget to come back to the snack pack. Moms keep shouting for lunch but no time to be given to a daily routine task.

Today when Indian culture is fast getting wrapped into western colours and people remember Valentines Day more than any other festivals, such festivals ensure that Indian colours are good enough to last longer than we think.

Prashant Shrivastava

prashant@friendstime.com

www.friendstime.com