Kite-makers at work in Patna City. Picture by Sachin

Patna, Jan. 12: The aerial playthings, which dot the skies of Jaipur and Ahmedabad in January every year, have started making their appearance in the clear skies of the city as well.

While the winter kite-flying festivals in Jaipur and Ahmedabad are internationally renowned and draw thousands of visitors each year, the festivities in the state capital lack neither colour nor the traditional value.

Advocate Raj Kumar Mishra, a kite enthusiast, said: “It is an old custom of our state. People believe that by flying kites, they welcome spring. According to another belief, flying kites on Makar Sankranti alleviates the ill effects of planets.”

Like every year, revellers in the city are going all out to stock the colourful flying objects before Makar Sankranti, scheduled on January 14.

In Patna City, the traditional hub of kite-makers and sellers, there is no dearth of variety or options to satiate them. Connoisseurs and enthusiasts can choose from a plethora of plastic kites, as well as ones made of paper, of different shapes, sizes and colours.

Rajiv Ranjan, the owner of Ranjan Kutir Udyog, reminisced about the past glory and said: “My ancestors set up this shop 150 years ago, and we have a very good reputation. We sell kites not only in Bihar but abroad as well. Kites from my shop have made appearance in Bollywood also.”

He claimed that his shop had supplied the kites used in a song sequence for Balraj Sahani- and Nutan-starrer Bhabhi.

The experienced kite-seller said the enthusiasm surrounding the pastime had waned over the years. “My grandfather used to recall a time when everyone in the city used to love flying kites throughout the year. But now, we have bumper sales only during Makar Sankranti,” he said, adding that he has to compensate for the reduced business by exporting his products.

But not all kite-sellers can survive like that. Ajay Jaiswal, the owner of a kite shop at Gurhatta Mor in Patna City, said: “I get raw material from Calcutta and Delhi. Over the past few years, the cost of raw material has gone up. But we can’t afford to increase the prices, as no one would buy our kites then. So, we have to incur losses.”

Kite-flying enthusiasts, too, have experienced the diminishing levels of interest. Bhojpuri actor Amit Parashar, who loves to take part in kite-fighting contests during Makar Sankranti, told The Telegraph: “The interest in this tradition is diminishing fast. It takes a lot of concentration to fly kites or snap the kite of another person. Very few are willing to work hard to master the skill.”

Still, there is enough enthusiasm in the activity for kite-makers to experiment. Rajiv Ranjan said: “Apart from the usual diamond-shaped kites, I have also heart- and eagle-shaped kites. A jhumka-shaped kite is our speciality.”

Experiments apart, revellers would sure like some old-fashioned aerial callisthenic at Makar Sankranti this year, and for years to come.