For many, Dashain means kites and skies, and of course kite-duels. Raju Upreti catches up with local kite champs and fans as they soar with their personal kite stories and recall memories of victories and defeats With the arrival of Dashain the blue sky can be seen dotted with some colourful kites. Some kite enthusiasts are seen on their rooftops holding unto their lattai (spool) and letting their kites take wings. Some are keen for changa chait — to snap the strings of other’s kites as those around sprint to celebrate other’s defeat. Besides kite flying having a cultural aspect to Bada Dashain, it is also about relaxing, celebrating victory and making friends, and memories. Getting high Prajwol Raj Pokharel has been flying kites for more than eight years now. And he says he always has the same enthusiasm for it. “When I hold the spool and get ready to fly my kite, I feel energised. Releasing the string helps me feel a sense of relief — this feeling is different as compared to other recreational activities,” shares this 24-year-old who flies kite for more than two hours a day during Dashain. About a month ago, Abhushan Shrestha started flying kites learning from his father who was a “champion”. And this 24-year-old likes it as it makes him feel good. “The days are hectic and full of pressure. Flying a kite rejuvenates me,” he cites. Shrestha is enjoying “beautiful time” flying kites. “This season will end soon and again I will have to wait for a year to hold my spool again,” he laments. From Gaushala, 24-year-old Sujan Dangol is passionate about kites. From morning to early evening, he flies kites during these seasons adding that he spends most of his time with kites and “when I see the sky speckled with kites of all colours, it is something magical that gets me into a joyous mood”. Kite battles The excitement and energy of flying kites soar when neighbours come to the scene for a duel. “Judauney ho? (Wanna battle?),” Pokharel shouts from his terrace to his neighbours who are with their spool and kite on the other terrace. When his neighbour accepts the challenge to battle out their kites, the real fun begins. “Battling one another to bring the other’s kite down is the most thrilling moment,” he admits. And if you happen to defeat them, that would be your proudest moment. “It is just the right time to fly a kite,” he adds. Getting together with friends on the terrace, some snacks and drinks on hand, and flying a kite all day is what Dangol likes the most about the kite flying sessions. What more fun is “shouting and teasing the friend whose kite gets knocked down in the battle”. Nonetheless, he believes this kind of tradition has bought his friends more closer to him. Seeing his father battle his friends, Bhaisepati-resident Shrestha was drawn to kite flying. “I used to see my father during those days being ready with his spool to do some battle with his friends,” he recalls. “He used to set the kite with proper kakka (the place to tie the kite with the string) — tie a handkerchief around his palm and go to the field taking me along. I used to jump with excitement when our kite used to get high up in the sky.” Now, he too battles with neighbours’ kites. Even “if I am cut 40 or 50 times, I will fly again,” he asserts. Old tricks, good memories Some stopped flying kites a long time ago due to the work schedule, but they have beautiful memories to cherish. When he used to go to the field carrying his spool and kite some 19 years ago, 33-year-old Bal Krishna Dangol’s friends used to fear a kite-duel with him. “I used to fix my own kite kakka and I could do it perfectly — it was the hardest part, and the one able to do that successfully was regarded the hero,” says this shop-owner. With the perfectly-done kakka on his kite, “I used to cut more than 10 to 12 kites a day,” he calls adding proudly, “There were hardly any who would compete with me. I was given the name ‘Changa ko Raja (King of Kites)’.” Fans of flying kites, his friends and he would start flying kites as soon as the monsoon ended. “We hardly waited for Dashain,” he reveals. But too much of kite flying was not always a good experience. He shares he used to have a lots of wounds in his hand due to “excessive rolling of the spool”. Also “we used to get scoldings and sometimes even beatings as we used to run for the loose kite through fields of rice destroying the paddy,” he remembers. And “escaping the landlord was the biggest achievement if we succeeded in doing so — we would own the loose kite, and wouldn’t get the scolding too”. Those days of Dashain were “really fun” for Bal Krishna. Rajan Bahaju, 34, a resident of Sinamangal has a similar story to share. He used to start kite-flying two months before Dashain and “kite-flying was the best part of the festival — it was filled with fun and joy”. Why wouldn’t it be fun? Bahaju’s Dashain was spent trying to make good manja (a substance that makes thread more strong) and then snapping other’s kites out of the competitions. “I had the best manja in the neighbourhood — it would just take my kite few seconds to cut other kites because I used to break a light bulb and grind the glass into very fine powder using a rock. I’d then apply that to the string,” he shares. Defeating other’s kites was prestigious but being a kite runner was no less fun for Bahaju. “As a kid, we wouldn’t have enough money to buy new kites. So, we had to run after the loose kites,” he divulges. As per him, they used to run a number of kilometres to get that one kite with eyes never leaving it till you got hold of it. “When you got one — it was a moment of victory.” When money was scarce, getting a kite worth Rs 5 was a matter of pride. When they bought it or got it as a token as a kite runner, they didn’t fly that kite, instead “we use to stick it on the wall of our room — it was regarded more as a decorative piece,” shares Bahaju who is currently working as a painter. Decline in number There is no record of when the kite-flying practice in Nepal began. According to Dev Kumar Khadgi, an owner of the kite shop, Maitidevi, “Flying kites sends a message to Indra, God of Rains, requesting him to stop rains as the rice fields have had enough water. Also the kite guides the recently released soul to the heaven.” Khadgi has been selling kites for more than 33 years and he says there has been tremendous decline in the number of kite flyers. “The rate has declined by more than 70 per cent,” he claims citing sales at his shop. “These days everyone is busy with their mobile phones and laptops,” he says is probably the reason for this drop. “Earlier there was no such technology and kite flying was taken as a joyful recreation activity; now things have changed.” The decline in the numbers of kite-flyers, as per Bal Krishna is due to their failure to “pass it on to the new generation, and we never bothered to make them aware about kite-flying reflecting its importance”. Though the number of kites in the sky has declined over the years, some institutions and local organisations have been organising kite festivals to preserve the tradition of kite-flying. Rotaract Club is one such organisation and as per Anish Manandhar, President of Rotaract Club of Sainbu, Bhaisepati, they organise kite flying festival to “preserve and promote this tradition” every year now. “This is the tradition that represents Dashain celebration — everyone must be concerned regarding its preservation and pass it onto the next generation for its successful growth,” he opines.