January 14 is a day that everyone in Jaipur looks forward to--it is celebrated as the first day of spring (although the weather begs to differ), the Hindu pilgrimage to Galtaji, and the annual kite festival.
Mankar Sankrati is a state holiday, and residents of Rajasthan spend the day on rooftop terraces with kites, loud music, and plenty of food! Amit and I ventured into the wall city to our friend Chetna's home. Her rooftop provided the perfect vantage point for watching the kite fighting and making our own attempts. My little purple kite lasted about five minutes before it was taken down by a triumphant neighboring kite flyer. However, my kite string wasn't coated with glass or rice like the serious kite fighters. My iPhone isn't exactly kite picture friendly, so this picture from Gujarat gives you an idea of what the spectacle looked like:
Shops and street stalls around the city had colorful kites for sale.
It is actually quite dangerous to be riding through the streets of the wall city during the kite festival. Kite strings are tangled through the streets, and its very easy for an unsuspecting rider to get a string wrapped around them. A five year old girl riding on the front of a motorcycle was strangled by kite string during the festival this year. A student organization mobilized to rescue birds that were injured by haphazard kite strings.
My favorite part of the festival was riding through the city and seeing all the sellers of the balloons for the kiddos not quite ready for the responsibility of kite flying.
The flying closes at nightfall with the gathering of fallen kites for a bonfire and celebration of the day.
Mankar Sankrati is a state holiday, and residents of Rajasthan spend the day on rooftop terraces with kites, loud music, and plenty of food! Amit and I ventured into the wall city to our friend Chetna's home. Her rooftop provided the perfect vantage point for watching the kite fighting and making our own attempts. My little purple kite lasted about five minutes before it was taken down by a triumphant neighboring kite flyer. However, my kite string wasn't coated with glass or rice like the serious kite fighters. My iPhone isn't exactly kite picture friendly, so this picture from Gujarat gives you an idea of what the spectacle looked like:
Shops and street stalls around the city had colorful kites for sale.
My favorite part of the festival was riding through the city and seeing all the sellers of the balloons for the kiddos not quite ready for the responsibility of kite flying.
The flying closes at nightfall with the gathering of fallen kites for a bonfire and celebration of the day.
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