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Sunday 22 October 2017

Kiteflying festival a symbol of harmony

LUCKNOW: Flying kites on Jamghat— the day after Diwali — is an age-old tradition in Lucknow. The festival is not limited to Hindus only as people of other communities also take part in it with equal enthusiasm.
“One of the main reasons for it could be due to the fact that the tradition of kite flying on this particular day was started by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula (1748–1797) for maintaining harmony between Hindus and Muslims,” said historian Dr Shobha Mishra, head of history department at the Navyug Mahila Post Graduate College.
“Nawabs used to tie golden jhoomers (chandeliers) on their kites and due to expensive things of gold and silver on kites, people used to run after them. This perhaps brought the tradition of looting kites to practice in old city,” she adds.
“Jamghat is unique because Muslims outnumber Hindus in kite flying celebrations showing a deep bond of brotherhood between both communities even after Nawabi era in Independent India. This shows the strength of our culture. Jamghat is the result of high thinking of the Nawabi leadership who used the occasion of Diwali to link Muslim masses with the common sports like kite flying. Today, perhaps cricket is bridging the gap between the communities in the same way,” Dr Mishra states.
Moreover, due to increasing urbanisation the place for professional kite flying has reduced. This year the ‘Jamghat’ kite bash is organised on the ground of Amausi Industrial Area where 60 top clubs of Lucknow will be participating in over 12 events.
“Some of them are team events and some others are individual events,” said Amarnath Kaul, a veteran kite flier and former president of the district kite club.
“The Lucknow Old Kite Flying Association is organising the event this year. The winner will get a prize of Rs 21,000 while the runner-up will pocket Rs 15,000. Two losing semi finalists will take away Rs 7000 each,” Kaul added. Last year, the Rising Chowk Club had won the event.
USE OF CHINESE KITES, STRING BANNED
He said use of either Chinese kites or strings was not allowed in the event as Indian kites and string were made in an eco friendly way. “All sorts of chemicals and harmful substances are used in preparing Chinese strings,” he said.
“Similarly, Chinese kites are also harmful because they are made of plastic sheets whereas Indian ones are made of paper,” Kaul added. He added that organising such even was not an easy task as no one was ready to sponsor such events.
“We have to arrange money on our own and secondly searching ground for the event and its booking is becoming more and more difficult now,” Kaul said. “Arranging judges and observers is not an easy task either. What keeps us going is the support of kite fliers and rising number of spectators. We are thankful to those who come from different cities to watch the event,” he added.
He said the art of kite flying reaches a new high on the day as professional kite fliers use new techniques to cut each other’s kites.
“The festival of Jamghat is very important for kite fliers. The festival helps maintain social relationships. Those who know Lucknow will understand what social bonding is shared by Hindus and Muslims here,” said nine time national kite flying champion Nawab Aga.
“The kites making still remains a cottage industry without any pollution. But manjha (string) making has turned advanced. During Jamghat alone, around 12 lakh kites are being sold,” said Umashankar a kite maker. “Kites are available for Rs 1 to Rs 500. Manjha ranges from Rs 900 per charkha (spool) to Rs 12000,” he added.
Jamghat is unique because Muslims outnumber Hindus in kite flying celebrations showing a deep bond of brotherhood between both communities even after Nawabi era in Independent India DR SHOBHA MISHRA, HoD History, Navyug Mahila PG College

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