Kites may be a rare sight in Salt Lake skies but New Town’s Eco Tourism Park had plenty of them on Vishvakarma puja. The park had hosted a kite flying competition that drew nearly 40 participants, perhaps all from in and around the area.  

The ambience was one of fun and laughter. For every participant, there were five or so cheer-leaders offering to hold the spool, give advice and cry out “bhokatta” whenever someone cut another kite’s thread. Rupankar Bagchi’s song Bhokatta and the film Kai Po Che!’s song Rishton ka manja played in the background and the park’s toy train (actually bus) chugged through once in a while with passengers gaping at the kite-dotted sky. A drone flew overhead capturing images too. 

Participants said they loved flying kites but struggled to find open skies. “My friends and I do so from terraces but we get so absorbed in the game that there’s always a risk of falling off,” said Zakir Hussain, a contestant who lives behind the park. Every player spoken to said they used Chinese kites. 

These are kites with — not cotton but — nylon threads which are not only more difficult to snip, but also come coated with metallic powder besides the traditional crushed glass. Floating in the air, these have slit throats of bikers, pedestrians, birds and have been banned in several states. While not banned in Bengal, the Eco Park competition did not allow them. 

“We wanted to hold this competition to lure the youth away from virtual games like Pokemon Go and back to traditional sports like kite-flying. We also wanted to showcase Eco Park as a haven for the sport,” said Debashis Sen, chairman cum managing director of Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco), that is in charge of the park. “There’s vast open space here, the lake ensures wind…these factors are hardly available anywhere else in the city now. August to January is the best time for kite-flying and we invite anyone interested to come give it a shot.”

Also spotted in the frolic were two Americans, one busy clicking pictures and the other looking longingly at the kites. “I used to fly kites as a boy but now I don’t see many kids at it even back home,” said Matt Hohenschuty, an engineer in town for work and staying at Novotel. He got a chance to fly a kite soon with 10-year-old Sajid Ali Mondal but gave up shortly. “This kid’s way better than me,” he laughed. 

The “kid”, the youngest in the competition, indeed was one of the best. He finished fourth after flying his kite for around an hour. “I fly kites the whole year. I apply manja myself with crushed glass and flour,” he said. In third place was his uncle Shabir Ali Mondal, who said he would have been happier if his nephew had won. 

In second place was a staff member of Mother’s Wax Museum, Ajed Ali, and when the winner emerged, dancing and clapping was Eco Park’s security guard Noor Hussain. “My son Khurshid Alam has won!” he beamed.