‘Chinese invasion’ hurts Hyderabad’s kite-makers

Hyderabad: Craftsmen involved in kite and manja-making are facing a tough time now. Many families here doing this work used to earn good money during Sankranti, popularly known as ‘patangula panduga’, or the festival of kites. A “Chinese invasion” and reducing interest in this sport among the youths are affecting their earnings and livelihood.

The festival made the city sky colourful every year this season.  The competition of kite-flying involves cutting of the kites in the air, a skillful sporting event that cuts across religious barriers.

The charm of this age-old festival is fading off. Its popularity among the youths and children is decreasing. A reason is the invasion of technology and access to entertainment via TV, internet and the cellphone.

This apart, another major blow for craftsmen came in the form of the Chinese manja (which is banned) and plastic kites which too are Chinese-made. This resulted in a financial crisis for these families.

A resident of Ganganagar, Yakuthpura, is 78-year-old Mohd Yousif. He is into kite-making since his childhood; an art he learned from his father and grandfather. Yousif’s three sons, Mohd Hafeez, Mohd Raheem and Kareem, are also into this trade.

Mohd Hafeez said: “Our whole family is involved in kite-making. Every day, we end up making 100 to 150 kites. Earlier, shopkeepers used to give orders throughout the year. Now it is tough for us to meet our day-to-day expenses. Kite flying seasons in the past lasted four months. Now, it has shrunk to two or three days.”

The 55-year-old Mohd Javeed Khan, an expert in cotton thread Manja, hails from a family whose past four generations were into this work. A resident of Mata Ki Khidki at Dabeerpura, he is now driving an autorickshaw for his family’s upkeep. There used to be high demand.

The Chinese manja, a plastic thread, is now in high demand. “Earlier, we were engaged in making manja for six to seven months. Now, we do it for a month,” he says.

Cotton manja is made of thread, glass powder that helps the threads cut each other, the ladies finger broth and colour.
The craftsman and the traders expressed the hope that this year’s festival will see more colourful kites in the sky over Hyderabad. This will hopefully attract more youths into the sport and help the kite-maker families earn more.