Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Dec 31: Colourful kites welcomed tourists at Malpe Beach Kite Festival – 2018 held on Monday, December 31.
The kite festival at the beach was organised by Udupi district administration and Malpe Development Committee. Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat inaugurated the show by releasing the balloons.
Dinakar Babu, president, zilla panchayat, speaking on the occasion said, “This is a meaningful event organised today. The New Year is ahead, and this is a part of the celebration. Today’s children do not know how to fly a kite. During childhood days, we used to fly kites. This is a day, where we recollect old memories and get an opportunity to learn to make and fly kites,” he said.
Sheela K Shetty, vice president, zilla panachayat said, “Sea is our right and it is part of our rich culture. People of all ages enjoy spending time at the sea shore,” she said.
“She also compared the kite to a mind, which flies high. However, just as a kite is controlled by string, our mind too needs to be controlled,” she said.
Nalini Pradeep Rao, taluk panchayat president Arun Kumar, deputy director Nirmithi Kendra, Roshan Shetty deputy director Sports Department, Sudesh member of Malpe beach development committee, Anand C Kollolikar CMC commissioner and others were present.
Around 30 professional kite flyers participated in Malpe kite festival.
FLY360 Team came with 30-40 kites of different shapes and sizes. Two shows where held along with LED night flying kites.
There were round spinner kites, tiger shaped 3D kites, teddy bear shaped 3D kites, 3D Transformers, 3D heart shape, ladybug kite, 3D rabbit kite, 3D trilo bite kite, 3D panda shape kite, 3D Ashoka Chakra kite, 3D frog kite, 3D 110 feet long snake kite, 3D Santa Claus, 3D octopus kite, 3D fish kite, 3D dragon kite, 10 different LED kites and many more are yet to be exhibited.
Modern kite making workshop was also conducted by the organisers and FLY360 thought the participants to design innovative kites.
Fireworks were another attraction as part of New Year celebration.
Speaking to Daijiworld, Janardhan from Team Mangalorean Kite Club said they created a Limca national record after flying 100 feet Kathakkali-the largest kite in India. The kite made up of cloth was stitched by the team. The team has travelled to 12 countries and put up kite flying performances. There are 60 international kite flyers in the group. They participate in atleast 15 shows every year as hobby. They use imported materials called ripstop nylon for manufacturing kites. The other kites in collection are Yakshagana, Garuda, Bharatanatyam, Dampathi, Charlie Chaplin, Pushpaka Vimana and many others. The team received Gold Medal in France.
Another large kite displayed was ‘Head of Lord’. “We wanted to explore our culture and rich heritage. Ones in two years we travel to France to take part in kite fest,” he said.
Another team participated from Rajkot of Gujarat with different styles of kites.
Mahesh Chavda, a kite hobbyist said that making kites is a profitable venture. “We also manufacture kites as per the demands. Demand is also there in market. The largest ring kite, 40 feet in height is showcased in the kite fest. Sports kites are another speciality. Fighter jet kite is an added attraction, which sounds like jet,” he said.
Mahesh said he came to Udupi for the first time. “There weather is nice here and we are enjoying the same,” he said.