HYDERABAD: Come Sankranti and every household in the city gets actively involved in kite flying contests with cheerleaders using loudspeakers and blowing trumpets to spur the morale of their players in the battle for neighbourhood one-upmanship.
The festival day begins quite early with ladies and girls coming up with colourful ‘rangoli’ in front of their respective houses. Post-puja and a few hours later, action shifts to the terrace with the team members carrying ‘patangs’ ‘manja’ charaks’ and instruments. Some fly kites from the ground. This spirit lasts all of three days.
On the other side is the opinion of experts, who state that flying kites improve eyesight, relaxes the mind and strengthens cognizance as well as physical enrichment. According to Dr Chinnababu Sunkavalli of Yashoda hospitals, “we come across many vitamin D deficiency cases. Flying kites will give the body an exposure to the sun. It is very crucial for people to come out and take an enthusiastic part in the kite festival, especially since Covid-19, people are mostly restricted indoors.”
Psychologist K. Krishna Sahithi said “flying kites boost one’s overall mental health, As they are open to bright natural light, there is a corresponding increase in coordination; communication skills improve as they have to work in tandem with the person holding the charak; tactical skills are developed as they combat with other kites and above all, they can develop the sportsman’s spirit irrespective of who the eventual winner is.”
Venu Gopal Bajaj, a kite merchant, said “earlier this sport of flying kites used to last for up to four months. This is the most affordable entertainment and sport as one can go about the celebration with little expenditure. In Hyderabad, hundreds of families get their livelihood, directly or indirectly, during Sankranti.”
Begum Bazaar, Bahadurpura, Golnaka, Gunfoundry, King Koti, most of the old city, Bhoiguda, Kachiguda, Santosh nagar, Malakpet, Lal Darwaza, Bahadurpura, Chinatal Basti, Tolichowki, Ameerpet, and Chikkadpally are the nerve-centres for this sport in the city.
In Bahadurpura, Khabutar Khana and Chappal bazar residents pool in money to illuminate the area and continued flying kites post sunset.
