Kite Fighting Contest
By Ermelinda Dias
Though kite flying is very much part of the Sub-continental culture, it is not very popular in my native Goa. I, therefore, grew up with a vague idea of this ingenuous sport, thanks to attempts by the Portuguese to stump it out of the Goan mindscape. But what I saw at the Coxs Bazar Kite Festival on New Year Day during the Beach Carnival, jointly organised by the Tourism Ministry and Bangladesh Kite Federation, filled my heart with sheer joy. The dusky sky was dotted with brightly coloured kites in all shapes and sizes, with enthusiastic kite fliers cutting across all barriers of age, class, gender and community.
Of course, China as the traditional inventor of kites was there with the Chinese Embassy lending active support to the Bangladesh Ministry of Tourism to leverage the traditional sport of kite flying in order to catapult Bangladesh tourism unto a higher trajectory.
I was pretty amazed with the skills, high calibre enthusiasm and friendly rivalry displayed by the 29 competitors participating in a kite fighting contest. On the face of it, kite flying looks deceptively simple, but I could see it takes tremendous aerodynamic skill, ingenuity and above all, devotion and patience. And it is only a guess that Old Dhakaites would emerge winners in the contest as history tells us that they are the ones who have really nurtured this traditional sport into a fine form of art and entertainment.
The world over kite festivals coincide with the commencement of the suns travel northwards (Uttarayan) announcing the end of winter and heralding the advent of spring. Although Uttarayan, or Makar Sankranti, is a traditional Hindu festival, history tells us it is due to patronage of the Mughal kings and nawabs that the Subcontinent developed a rich tradition of kite flying and kite fighting, in a superb example of pluralistic living.
That the Bangladesh Kite Federation has been conducting an annual kite festival at Coxs Bazaar beach continuously for the last 11 years is a reflection of their commitment to preserve the countrys rich cultural heritage. I am truly glad that I had the opportunity to experience the magic of that festival. It warmed my heart to see young boys and girls indulging in a tradition that is not only almost 2,000 years old, but is a precursor of the modern flying age.
