Kite Flying is a very good recreation.. It symbolizes one’s dream of flying. There is a misconception that it is a children’s sports and it is not meant for adults. This misconception may be due to different reasons. Because man who is not able to fly is trying to ape the birds and try to realize the dreams of flying in the air like birds. This an adult thinks to be childish.
When I was young, I had done kite flying. It is a cheap or very inexpensive recreation. A few pieces of trace papers, it is better if they are thin and coloured, a long string, gum and a few thin sticks which we used to take from the mid ribs of the dried coconut leaves to hold the spread out paper. The ribs are joined like a bow and arrow and they are tied to the paper cut in the shape of square. Home made gum by using wheat flour is used to stick the paper to the ribs. A long tail made of muti-colour paper is pasted at one corner of the same like tail which is allowed to flow. One end of a long string is tied to the middle point where the ribs cross each other and then the other end is held in the hand. It is taken to an open place and run with the kite to certain distance so that kite can take an upward swing and allow it to fly upwards. If the wind is strong it flies upwards depending on the length of the thread one has. As it soars towards upward bound, we become excited. We feel as though we have also zoomed upwards towards the deep into the sky. The higher it scales, happier we become. I think this has some reflection on behavior of human beings . We always want to reach higher and higher and discover greater heights in every walk of life and this satisfies our inner ego of becoming Number one in the society.
As one grows up, men lose interest in this kite flying hobby/ recreation. In large part of India kite flying has almost vanished. If we are to become a cynic then we can console ourselves by giving the lame excuse of absence of large open areas required for kite flying. When we were young, we used to go to open areas of railway Station yard where there were no high rise buildings or even buildings or any obstacles for the kite flying. But all those places are now cordoned off and one is not allowed to go there, perhaps for security reasons.
How does the kite fly and how it is lifted upwards. The lifting force of all kites is produced by deflecting the air downward, the resulting change in momentum producing an upward force. The air tries to push the kite along like the sail boat. But the string which the flier holds keeps the kite under control. Since the kite is controlled from the ground with the aid of the string which the kite flier holds and prevents it from going with the wind flow, the kite is tilted so that the air is deflected downward, the kite has no where to go but up. Once it takes upward direction and becomes stable, the entire maneuvering depends on the flier and the drag he creates from the ground.
It is fascinating to see the kite soaring sky high. Sometimes one feels that it challenges the eagles which fly almost like the kite. When the flier controls the kite from the ground, he sees only the sky and he becomes one with the nature. He forgets all his problems and tensions. He breathes fresh air and feels satisfied that his kite could try to reach the clouds. Perhaps it gives him satisfaction that it can reach the heights which he cannot reach on his own.
Therefore I felt that one should know which great scientist discovered kites. When I began researching the history of kites I found out that in China, Japan, Thailand and India there were long kite tradition, though it is dying in India except in certain parts of Gujarath and Rajasthan. I think Ahmedabad and Jaipur are famous for kite flying. In China there are many stories connected with kites There is the story of Hsiang Yu who flew a kite at night to frighten the army of Liu Pang founder of the Han dynasty in China. There are accounts from 100 BC to 500 AD of generals using kites to send signals, messages and even weapons. They were used for observation and to measure the distance of enemy camps. In the modern history one cannot forget the story of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of United State of America who was also a scientist and inventor. His experiment with kites is legendary. He sent up a kite in a storm to prove that lightning was of the same electric matter as the one that generated electricity A major milestone in kite flying happened in 1870 when an Australian inventor Lawrence Hargrave created box-kites whose stability was the inspiration for power driven aeroplanes. Alexander Graham Bell ,Samuel Cody and the Wright brothers experimented with very large man-carrying kites and biplane gliders.
“ History has it that India developed a rich tradition of kite flying due to the patronage of the Kings and Nawabs who found the sport both entertaining and a way of displaying their prowess. Trained fliers were employed to fly kites for kings. Slowly, the art started becoming popular amongst the massesâ€. Now kite flying is very popular in Gujarath and especially in Ahmedabad. On a particular day in the year, that is on 14th of January of every year, the people of Gujarath go to the open fields or roof tops or to their terraces of the building with kites in their hands. The whole sky can be seen with colourful kites. January 14th is celebrated all over the country as ‘Makar Sankranti’ ‘Makar’ means Capricorn as per zodiac and ‘sankranti’ is transition. On this day, transition of sun happens from Sagittarius to Capricorn in season of winter and the sun enters into the Northern Hemisphere. Thus it signifies an event wherein it seems to remind the children that ‘Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya’, may you go higher & higher, to more and more Light and never to Darkness. To Hindus, the Sun stands for knowledge, spiritual light and wisdom. Makar Sankranti signifies therefore that we should turn away from the darkness of delusion in which we live, and begin to enjoy a new life with bright light within us to shine brighter and brighter. We should gradually begin to grow in purity, wisdom, and knowledge, even as the Sun does from the Day of Makar Sankranti.
Why kite flying is encouraged in the month of Januaray ? I learn that the Sun rays are very good for health in winter season. Ours being a hot weather country and winter is not very long here, one cannot expose his body to sun rays throughout the year, especially they. are harmful in the summer. Hence, Indian people can take sun bath in winter only. Kite flying is a good way to get direct sun rays. They keep their back to the sun. This saves their eyes and face from direct sun rays. All of us know that direct contact of sun rays to our eyes are harmful and dangerous.
Hindu religion is a way of life. The religious tenets or precepts are blended with certain practices which enable the people to go to the rooftops or to the open grounds to take sun bath during our ‘winter’. kite flying has been made as means to take them there. I will be dealing with several such practices connected with our religious beliefs in the days to come. .
Kite Flying is not such a harmless recreation. We have instances where they dip the string in glass dust by using gum and then use it as the string. Sometimes if it comes in contact with the human beings, it may cut even the throat or cause grievous injuries. There are kite fights in which one would try to cut the string of the other in the sky. There are people who bet on the kites, either the time it will remain in the sky or distance or height it may traverse. Man always tries to add ‘pep’ to any sports to make it more attractive!
It is believed that a famous Chinese philosopher of ancient China, named Mo Di, once lived on mount Lu in Weifeng in Shandong province where he created an eagle kite which he managed to fly for one whole day. This was the earliest known kite and it was flown over 2,300 years ago. I wonder whether anyone has beaten that record?!