By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : With the onset of August, the Lal Kuan market in old Delhi has stirred from its slumber and is blossoming in various hues. Hundreds of kites are being readied every day at this place, the only wholesale kite market in the capital.
Humming with the voices of pedestrians and the honking of a hundred vehicles, the Lal Kuan market is in the heart of the quintessential Old Delhi.
A visit there during the 15-day period preceding Independence Day and at any other time makes for two very different experiences. Normally, the bazaar is lined by shops on two sides, selling utensils and hardware, with not more than 15-20 of them offering kites.
But come August and the market dons a completely festive look. Hundreds of people from in and around Delhi come here, live in rented accommodation and make hundreds of kites every day till Aug 15 – since it has been a tradition in India to fly them on Independence Day.
“There is a big boom in sales during this time of the year. From a mere 15 shops, nearly 150-200 shops spring up selling kites of all shapes, colours and sizes,” Mohammed Shaeeq, one of the shopkeepers in the area, told IANS.
Among the people who have come this year from the outskirts of the city is 20-year-old Afrida, her younger sister Nida and their father. Working tirelessly for hours together and taking a break only during meals, Afrida churns out nearly 100 kites a day with the help of her sister.
“Earlier my father used to do all of this by himself but now we help him with the business. This is a very busy time for the family,” she told IANS even as she fixed the thin arch of a sleek wooden stick on a kite to hold it erect.
For Afrida, making a kite in 20 minutes is no big task. As her nimble fingers go about the work, cutting and pasting, at a rapid speed, her 70-year-old father Ashraf Khan looks on.
“I have been making kites for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, I can no longer make as many as I could earlier but my daughters are good at it. Now I sell them to the wholesalers,” he said.
In the wholesale market, one can get a real good deal while buying kites. The prices range from 50 paise to Rs.100.
Mehtab Alam, a resident of the area, is into kite making and says while only a few households make kites on normal days, during this period almost every family takes to it.
“We are three brothers and we work for hours together to make as many kites as we can,” he said.
As one walks around the market, an ocean of colours seems to take over. Kites of all shapes, from cartoon characters like Batman and Superman to the usual diamond shaped ones, flood the market.
Most popular are the tri-coloured ones. Chinese kites, which are made of cloth, are also popular although they don’t fly as high. They are priced higher than the others, ranging from Rs.15 to Rs.100.
Permanent shops like the Jawahar Kite House do brisk business as their supply goes to Rajasthan and Gujarat during the festival of Makar Sankranti, to Punjab during Basant Panchami, to Maharashtra for Diwali and Dussehra and to all over Delhi for Independence Day celebrations.
While shopkeepers are still doing brisk business, many feel the charm is fading.
“Where are the open spaces to fly kites? Earlier there used to be huge expanses of open land where children used to fly kites but now all the places are so crammed,” said one of the shopkeepers.
Another said that he is not happy with the business this year. “Because of the sealing, a lot of shops were pulled down. If the shops don’t exist then where will the retailers go?
“Moreover, the weather is just not breezy enough to fly kites,” he said.
But such misgivings aside, the kites still gladden the heart. As shimmering papers in rainbow hues lie scattered in every corner of the market and hundreds of pairs of hands work tirelessly, you know that spirits are soaring high at the Lal Kuan market.