By Shabana Ibrahim
Today the sky over Mount Lavinia beach will be covered with unusual flying objects. No, these objects won’t be alien spaceships, but Kites as the Innovations International Kite Festival 2003 is scheduled to be held with two participants each from India and Nepal.

The two Indian participants are brothers Deepak and Hemant Kapadia who have participated in many international kite flying competitions and were finalists at the Kite Flying World Cup 1996 in Dieppe, France.

Deepak, the eldest of the two said that he was excited about attending the festival. "This is our first time in Sri Lanka and we are looking forward to demonstrating our skill and exhibiting our many kites to the Sri Lankans. We also hope to learn about the kite flying culture of Sri Lanka," he said.

Kite flying is only a hobby that the two brothers indulge in, but they are occupied businessmen.

"Since we were very young we used to fly kites. Our father is a kite enthusiast and he founded the Golden Kite Club in 1973, a non-financial organisation," Hemant said.

The brothers were excited when they spoke of kites. But for a moment Deepak sobers down and expresses his regret that many Indian children have no time for any outdoor activities like kite flying. "The younger Indian generation is glued either to the TV or the computer and they show very little interest in outdoor activities. My own son is not a kite enthusiast," he said.

Hemant’s three-year old son on the other hand "is simply gaga over kites" and the proud papa is equally delighted over it.

"They say Gujrat on January 14 is supposed to have the ideal weather conditions that are good for the body. "The sun is at the northern most peak of the earth and Gujarat is like a madhouse filled with people of all ages on rooftops or any available space, flying kites," Hemant said.

Other parts of India also celebrate kite festivals. North India celebrates Baisakhi at the beginning of the harvest season; the interiors of Gujrat fly their kites in May during Akhathrit and Delhi does it on August 15, Independence Day.

The Kapadia brothers said that "kite fighting" is unique to Asian countries but added that the western world was now beginning to show an interest in it. With the forming of the "Manjha Club International" in France, kite fighting has gradually been picking up in the west.

The "manjha" is a type of string made out of cotton and coated with glass and 52 other ingredients. This string is attached to the first 300m-500m of the kite and it is so strong that it can cut through cables if it continually rubs on it. It is this thread that plays an important part in kite fighting because it severs the opponents string.

Deepak said that it was impossible to use the manjha as the holding string because it had the ability to cut the kite flyer’s hand. "We attach normal cotton string to the manjha and this is used as the handling string. Even this can wound the hand and it is the flyers handling technique that prevents his hand from getting hurt," he said.

Like the diversification that is in all facets of Indian culture, kites vary from region to region. One feature all Indian kites share are the materials used. "The traditional Indian kite is made from paper and bamboo," Deepak said.

Punjab is famous for its "Thukal" kites; in Hyderabad all kites are called "Gudhi;" Uttar Pradesh is known for the "Bareilly" and Ahmedabad kites are the "Cheel" meaning eagle kites.

The traditional Indian fighter kite is the "Patang" and this is the professional size for Indian kite competitions.

Indian kite making culture is unique and interesting because it takes a few years for a kite to be proclaimed as "fit to fly."

The bamboo that is used for the frame is not shorn but rubbed with oil and left hanging in the kitchen for a few years. The same is done with the ‘manjha’. "When food is fried, the heat and other things waft on to the bamboo and the ‘manjha’ and this makes them more supple and flexible. Later fumes from a candle are held on to certain parts of the bamboo to increase flexibility. Even the paper is manufactured in a unique way. The kite maker rubs a stone on to his oiled hair and he then rubs it across the paper making diagonal lines. This stretches the paper and prevents it from tearing. It also prevents it from creasing and getting crushed," Hemant said.

Innovations International Kite Festival 2003 is organised by Innovations Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. in association with Mt. Lavinia Hoteliers’ Association and Media sponsors, Upali Newspapers, Thinakkural Publications, ITN and Lakhanda Radio.