Kem cho Mr Prime Minister?

If you are thinking it is US President Barack Obama greeting our Prime Minister Narendra Modi again, you are highly mistaken.

'Kem cho Mr Prime Minister?' is the latest tag imprinted on several kites being sold in the city on the occasion of Makar Sankranti that falls on January 15 (Thursday).

Last year, because of the Lok Sabha election, the markets were filled with Modi and younger rival Rahul Gandhi's pictures on kites. However, after Modi's win in May followed by his White House visit in September, kite makers have understood what would sell the most this Makar Sankranti.

Radhe Shyam Chourasia (67), whose family has been into the kite-making business for generations at Padri ki Haweli market in Patna City, said: 'Last year, there was a rush for Modi-printed kites. This year, we have tried to highlight his achievements. His visit to US is a milestone so we thought of using ' kem cho Mr Prime Minister' as one of the tags for our kites.'

The kite has one face of Modi and one of Obama, where the US President says ' kem cho Mr Prime Minister' to welcome the Prime Minister to the White House in September. The kites are available in the range of Rs 5 to Rs 50 and are being sold in bulk. So far, more than 50,000 such kites have been sold out.

Enthusiasts are also purchasing kites with posters of the proposed Statute of Unity, Modi's pet project set to be the world's tallest statue of India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which is being installed in Gujarat.

'The traditional kites made up of simple paper are there in the market. However, the kites made of thin nylon sheets and polythene have Modi's face and they are in huge demand,' said Chourasia.

This is not the first time Modi has taken the lead in the kite festival, which is usually very famous in Gujarat as Uttarayan. In 2014 Diwali, crackers with the Prime Minister's face imprinted on its covers equally did a great business.

'His (Modi) craze is increasing day by day. Grown-ups just want kites, which have his face imprinted. However, kites with cartoon characters such as Chhota Bheem and Spiderman imprinted on them, are very popular among children,' said Mantu Kumar, another shop owner at Hajigang.

For a change, kites with pictures of Bollywood celebrities such as Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are no more in demand. Bihar political stalwarts such Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, too, aren't flying high this year.

Kite enthusiast couldn't agree more as they want to splash the skies with Modi kites during the kite festival at Sabbalpur Diara on January 15. Kankerbagh resident Rishi Raj said: 'I admire Narendra Modi because of his vision. I decided to fly only Modi kites because it would have a unique impression on my friends.'