Ranchi, Jan. 14: The clear morning sky was dotted with chappan chhuri, pari, budda and chand tara as they took to the skies from the Ranchi Gymkhana Club (RGC) today.

For those uninitiated in to the art of patang baazi or competitive kite flying, here’s a clue. The names above are typical of kites and in Makar Sakranti, which is today, there’s usually no better way to celebrate than to fly a kite.

Thus, around 57 members of RGC came out under the open sky, braving the winter chill to take part in the kite-flying ceremony that was held by the club authorities.

If the sky was dotted with colours, the ground was no less attractive as makeshift kiosks were set up to provide relief to the hungry kite flyers and runners after a bout.

Goodies like tilkut, ghewar, curd and beaten rice (chuda) traditionally a part of the festival, were on the offing.

There were also the latest tracks from Bollywood to keep the members occupied, not that there was any dearth of things to do.

“We have more than 100 varieties of kites and sticks for the willing members. It’s a tradition to fly a kite on this auspicious occasion. And we celebrate this day with a lot of fun and excitement every year,” said Sunil Gupta, chairman of the games sub-committee, RGC. Members, too, seemed more than willing to give the sport a shot.

“My orange and white kite has been very lucky so far. It refused to let others get better than it. I am flying a kite after some 30 years and I am completely enjoying myself,” said member Vivek Agarwal, with a child-like enthusiasm that spoke of his love for patang baazi.

Ashish Arya, who had brought his two children along, had taken no chances. Arya had bought a kite from his favourite city shop. “This event was a great idea and brought back a lot of childhood memories. My kids, too, need to learn the nuances of this art, which is an intrinsic part of many Indian festivals like Makar Sankranti, Rakshabandhan and Basant Panchami,” he added, while his sons looked on with awe at the sky.

The adults, who were enjoying the event with gusto, seemed to have sidelined the kids for once.

Ayushi, a student of Class IV of Bishop Westcott Girls’ School, Ranchi, was seen pulling the dor or the kite’s thread with a lot of concentration. “I do not how to do this, but my mother is helping me out,” she added with a giggle that said it all.