Monday, Jan 14, 2008
Kite Flying, Sesame Sweets on 'Makar Sankranti'
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String makers from Uttar Pradesh flocked to the desert of Rajasthan ahead of the popular festival 'Makar Sankranti' which is marked by kite flying.
On January 14, the skies were dotted with innumerable colorful kites of various shapes and sizes to celebrate ‘Makar Sankranti'.
String-makers of Bareilly, set themselves up in the pink city of Jaipur, busy preparing 'manja', a glass coated string used in kite fights, with hopes of doing good business.
Chote Bhai, a kite string maker, said: "There are at least 15 to 20 of us who come here to make manja and some also make beautiful varieties of kites. One person gets on an average around rupees 100 to 150 per day from morning to evening."
The craftsmen claim that the 'Bareilly string' is of better quality and is preferred by kite-flyers.
"There (Bareilly) we get all the material. We get the mixtures, which are heavy in weight at about rupees 25 to 30 per kilogram. The material we get there is of good quality and that is why people prefer the Bareilly string," said Jakir Hussain, another kite string maker.
Makar Sankranti, marks the transit of the sun to the northern hemisphere every year on January 14, and is celebrated in many parts of north and west India with kite flying and sesame-seed sweets.
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