India

Indian kites for sale Kiyomi Okawa

Rooftop flying on Makar Sankranti Kiyomi Okawa

Fighter kites Kiyomi Okawa

Like many Asian and Middle Eastern countries, India has an ancient kite fighting tradition: its signature kite is a fighter made of colorful tissue paper and bamboo, carefully crafted for maneuverability and responsiveness. Its flying line includes a section of manjha, coated with crushed glass to cut the flying line of other combatants. Kites fill the skies on many occasions (for example, in Delhi on January 26th, Republic Day, and August 15th, Independence Day) but especially on January 14th, Makar Sankranti, the great kite festival that marks the passage of the sun into the northern hemisphere.

Articles

• The kite business in India
• Kite aerial photograph of Khumba Mela
• Indian fighter kites & Tal Streeter's book

Books

• Kites of India (2003) is a pamphlet by Ajay Prakash, on behalf of Nomad Heritage Trust, generously made available for free download (1.39mb) in Adobe Acrobat format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free download at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
• A Kite Journey Through India (1996) by Tal Streeter describes a rich variety of Indian kite settings and personalities.

Events

• Third International Goa Kite Carnival (2004)
• Kite Festivals of India 2004
• Sixth Desert Kite Festival 2003

Kites & Kite Kits

• Babu Khan Fighter Kite : traditional fighter kite, 24 inches by 23 inches, made by the Indian master, in white so that you can apply your own tissue paper appliqu?or painted designs. Flying this kite is not recommended for beginning fighter kite fliers; rather, the kite can be used for student craft projects and to develop an appreciation for the worldwide fighter kite tradition.

Media

• Fish in the Sky: Makar Sankranti is a 30-minute video/DVD (all regions) about India's great mid-January kite festival. Kites are designed by master kite makers, both Muslim and Hindu, and handcrafted in every color. Kite lines are coated with crushed glass, and everyone-men, women, children, rich and poor-tries to cut down as many other kites as possible by slicing through their flying lines.