Kite Festival Jaipur, India
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We have been lucky enough in India to witness many festivals during our two months in the country. Our arrival in Jaipur was no exception
Kites at Chaugan Stadium
The Kite Festival is an annual event that the whole of Rajasthan get’s pretty excited about and nowhere is it bigger than in the city of Jaipur.
The city shuts down for the day as families and children alike stand atop rooftops flying their paper kites high into the air.
Colourful Kites
Children run through the streets with their colourful kites and work at freeing them from trees and poles.
Location
The main event takes place at Chaugan Stadium in the centre of the old city. Hundreds of people gather to fly their kites on the grassy lawn.
Chaugan Stadium, Main Event
It is a festive event. Dancers and musicians play for the crowd, camel carts offer rides along with elephants.
We were expecting something different however.
We walked over to the stadium expecting to see giant kites of different shapes and sizes. Instead we witnessed small triangles painting the sky in a rainbow of colours.
It was definitely an event for the children as kids flew kites all over the city and had a blast doing it.
Little Boy Trying to make his kite work
The idea of the Kite festival is not to have the biggest kite, but to take down other kites in battles. People fly their kites all over the city and work at cutting down another persons kite.
It is fierce competition and people have resorted to coating their strings with metal and glass called Manjha. This makes for a strong weapon, but it also has its drawbacks.
Danger to Birds
Hundreds of birds are killed each year during the kite festival as they fly and tangle with the deadly manjha coated string. It is sharp and causes infection taking the bird right out of the air. They then fall prey to dogs and cats with little chance of survival.
Vendor Stand filled with kites
Many endangered birds were killed this year as organizations worked tirelessly to save a few from peril. In total, they estimate that 300 birds were rescued. Rescue vans answered numerous calls around the city regarding fallen birds. Hundreds of others weren’t so lucky.
It isn’t just the birds that are in danger during the festival.
Dozens of people were injured by being struck by the sharp string and several deaths and serious injuries occured when people fell off roofs or ran into traffic chasing their kites.
This Rickshaw won't do much damage, but speeding cars do!
We did not know about the metal coated strings while we walked through the festival and in retrospect, many kites and strings came dangerously close to crashing into us as well!
Festive Feeling
The kite festival wasn’t the most exciting festival that we have been to in India, but it was a great day to walk through town and to feel the energy and excitement of the people. People gathered on their rooftops, in the streets and on their balconies. People were every where. It felt more like a leisurely Sunday afternoon than the usual chaotic festivals that we attend in Asia.
Watching events from above
It was a pleasant change to walk on the roads with very little traffic and it was fun to watch families and friends celebrate together in a yearly tradition.
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When reading the headline… I was first thinking of Kite Surfing… lol
Interesting! Thanks!
.-= Melvin´s last blog ..Envoy Hostel =-.
Might get into some of that in Sri Lanka if we are lucky!!
Whoooaaaaaaa, that is one intense festival. Death by KITE?! Sounds crazy.
.-= Candice´s last blog ..A Toast to Some Travellers: People to Stalk =-.
We have similar thing in Thailand at Sanam Luang. But I don’t know if they have develop the competitiveness to the same level with coating strings yet. But it’s definitely a fun festival to witness.
.-= Amy @ The Q Family´s last blog ..San Diego With Kids – Wild Animal Park =-.
Hi Amy,
I didn’t know they had one in Thailand. that would be cool to see. They are seriously competitive here. It was fun to watch but you have to be a serious kite flyer to participate.
I second Candice – that sounds pretty intense! I love that you guys are honest though that it’s great for a stroll but probably not something to specifically go out of your way to plan for
.-= Shannon OD´s last blog ..A Little Advice…Travel Around the World Without Flying (Three) =-.
Hi Shannon,
Yeah somehow we were expecting a little more but it was still fun to be there and witness a little of the craziness.
How sad that something that should be a fun activity for kids (and grown-up kids) has become something so super-competitive and dangerous. I remember enjoying kites as a kid, and then kite-surfing (as Melvin mentioned) with the giant kites in college, but I’d have quit immediately if even one bird had gotten injured or killed….this is such a sad story!
.-= Trisha Miller´s last blog ..Choose Your Words Carefully =-.
It is sad that so many birds have to die in a festival that should be fun all around. Perhaps in the future they can find a way to be competitive and not injure animals or themselves in the process.
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It’s probably one of those festivals that are better when you are participating! Or if you know a local and go up on their roof! Regardless – the photos area lovely – the color is so fun!
.-= Sherry Ott´s last blog ..What Goes Around Comes Around =-.
True Sherry, I think that it would have been better if we were participating.
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Those are pretty odd celebrations. People take pleasure in, even if, it sounds ridiculous. But it is very interesting to see.
The festivals are very interesting to see. We expected something different from the kite festival. it is too bad they are using the dangerous wire, but it is still a wonderful celebration. For the most part, the regular people in the streets are using normal string and just having a great day off:-)
Very interesting post. Thank you for sharing. Kite Festival in Jaipur is very popular. It celebrates in January Month.
Thanks for the photo love!