SHILLONG, JAN 5: For the elders it was a nostalgic moment when for a flicker of a second they were transported back to their youth even as the children- grown up as they are these days on computer and television- watched in awe as kites of different hues, sizes and shapes dotted the Saturday afternoon sky in the Shillong Gulf Club during the one-day Lasubon Kites Festival 2013.
As former Meghalaya home minister and Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) chairman RG Lyngdoh pulled the string of the hundred kites attached to a single string by way of inauguration, and they began to soar up to the sky, those near him were heard asking Meghalaya tourism department commissioner and secretary R. V. Suchiang and director R M Sohkhlet if they had also invited the wind. The tourism department, of course, was the organiser of the event.
The January sky, by the stroke of providence, suddenly gushed with breeze giving the support needed for the kites to fly majestically in the partly cloudy sky. Elders came in droves, children in tow, some with giant size kites with fancy prints and colours to take part in the kite festival.
Amidst the glee and laughter of children, elders were seen trying to teach the little ones the art of flying kite, some with disastrous consequences as the kite came diving down.
But the central of attraction remained the man with the hundred kites who had tied the thick string to his belt. The flyer Abdul Rauf, an international kite-maker, is a member of the Mumbai based Golden Kite Club who came to participate in the first Lasubon Kite Flying Festival along with three other members of his club.
Rauf has travelled all over the world, flying kites in Europe, America, Brazil, Holland and Thailand. He has also participated in many kite-flying festivals and competitions throughout the country. “Flying kite is my hobby; so I go wherever I am invited to participate.” Kite enthusiasts from the Kolkata Kite Association were also there to provide logistical support and distribute free kites to whoever wished to fly them.
People were seen thronging the event even in the late afternoon. Encouraged by the enthusiastic response of the people, the organizer promised to turn the Lasubon Kite Flying Festival into one of the major tourism events in Meghalaya. – By Tilak Rai
+ There are no comments
Add yours