Kite running is the practice of running after drifting kites in the sky that have been cut loose in kite fighting. Typically the custom is that the person who captures a cut kite can keep it, so the bigger and more expensive looking the kite, the more people can usually be seen running after it to try to capture it.
Kite fighting is a popular pastime in the Indian subcontinent throughout the year and during kite flying festivals, and also in Afghanistan, Iran, in Chile and Brazil, and many other places throughout the world. In most cases, the fine string that is used to fly these kites is coated with powdered glass and flyers try to cut the string of the other kites.
When the loser's kite string is cut, the kite drifts free with the wind until it falls to the ground. Kite running is the practice of running after these cut kites to try to capture them when they come down. Typically the custom is that the person who captures a cut kite can keep it. In cities and towns, the bigger and more expensive looking the kite, the more people can usually be seen running after it to try to capture it as their free prize. [1]
Droves of people of all ages may run after a kite and try to capture it with the help of poles or broken off tree branches with which they try to entangle the loose string trailing with the kite. Running after and capturing these kites is often made more difficult when these drifting kites are taken long distances with the wind or fall atop trees, electric poles and houses over compound walls and fences, or in the middle of or across busy roads and railway lines.
Kite runners endanger their lives by running into the path of oncoming traffic and trains without looking down or fall from trees and buildings which they were trying to scale to get at kites that landed on top while gazing up and running after kites. [2] [3] They may walk around in the middle of congested towns and cities, and while gazing up may be dangerously unaware of what is happening on the ground in their immediate surroundings, causing injuries and collisions with traffic.
There have also been incidents with glass-coated kite strings causing injuries or damage where other people, birds, or electricity cables become entangled with the string. In particular, it is liable to slit the throats of children participating in the Makar Sankranti festival, where a popular challenge is to cut other kite strings with your own. This has led to a blanket ban on glass-coated strings in Mumbai, issued on December 14, 2016. [4]
Kite running has featured in a few books, including The Kite Runner written by Khaled Hosseini. In the book, the scars left by the manja while flying the kites are described as trophies by the schoolchildren who receive them.
A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the face of the kite so the wind can lift it. Some kite designs don't need a bridle; box kites can have a single attachment point. A kite may have fixed or moving anchors that can balance the kite. The name is derived from kite, the hovering bird of prey.
A guitar pick is a plectrum used for guitars. Picks are generally made of one uniform material—such as some kind of plastic, rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, tagua, or stone. They are often shaped in an acute isosceles triangle with the two equal corners rounded and the third corner less rounded. They are used to strum chords or to sound individual notes on a guitar.
Makar(a) Sankranti, also referred to as Uttarayana, Makar, or simply Sankranti, is a Hindu observance and a festival. Usually falling on the date of January 15 annually, this occasion marks the transition of the sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius (dhanu) to Capricorn (makara). Since the sun has made this transition which vaguely coincides with moving from south to north, the festival is dedicated to the solar deity, Surya, and is observed to mark a new beginning. Many native multi-day festivals are organised on this occasion all over India.
In an aircraft, ribs are forming elements of the structure of a wing, especially in traditional construction.
The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet invasion, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.
Vasant Panchami, also rendered Vasanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja in honour of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways depending on the region. Vasant Panchami also marks the start of preparation for Holika and Holi, which take place forty days later. The Vasant Utsava (festival) on Panchami is celebrated forty days before spring, because any season's transition period is 40 days, and after that, the season comes into full bloom.
Manja is an abrasive string used to fly fighter kites in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. In Brazil, similar string is called cerol, and in Chile hilo curado. The cotton string is coated with powdered glass or a similar abrasive, and is designed to cut the strings of rival kites.
Kite Man is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is commonly depicted as an adversary of Batman who uses kite-based weapons to commit crimes. His name is a homage to Peanuts protagonist Charlie Brown. The character has been generally regarded as a joke in comparison with other supervillains, due to his lack of super-powers, dimwitted personality, and the flimsy central concept that believes his identity as a super-criminal.
Two: A Film Fable is a 1964 Indian black-and-white short film directed by Satyajit Ray. The film was made under the banner of Esso World Theater at the request of a non-profit American public broadcasting television, PBS. It was made as part of a trilogy of short films from India. The other two films in the trilogy featured Indian Sitar player, Pandit Ravi Shankar and a Ballet troupe from Mumbai, then known as "Bombay". Ray, who worked prominently for Bengali cinema, was requested to make a film in English language with a Bengali setting, however Ray being an admirer of silent film decided to make a film without any dialogue as a tribute to the genre.
Fighter kites are kites used for the sport of kite fighting. Traditionally most are small, unstable single-line flat kites where line tension alone is used for control, at least part of which is manja, typically glass-coated cotton strands, to cut down the line of others.
In kiting, a line is the string made of cotton, nylon, silk or wire, which connects the kite to the person operating it or an anchor. Kites have a set of wings, a set of anchors, and a set of lines coupling the wings with the anchors. Kite lines perform various roles: bridle, control, tug, or special duty.
Manja may refer to:
Shakrain Festival is an annual celebration in Dhaka, Bangladesh, observed with the flying of kites. It occurs at the end of Poush, the ninth month of the Bengali calendar. This day is known as Poush Sangkranti.
Vasanta, also referred to as Basant, refers to the Indian spring.
Every year, Gujarat celebrates more than 200 festivals. The International Kite Festival (Uttarayan) is one of the biggest festivals celebrated. Months beforehand, homes in Gujarat begin to manufacture kites special box kites for the festival.
Basant is a spring time kite flying event during the Basant Panchami festival in the Punjab. It falls on Basant, also called Basant Panchami. According to the Punjabi calendar it is held on the fifth day of lunar month of Magha marking the start of spring.
Amdavad Ma Famous is a documentary film about kite flying festival in Ahmedabad, India. The film is directed by Hardik Mehta and produced by Akanksha Tewari and Arya A. Menon. It was filmed with help of cinematographer Piyush Puty and Harshbir Singh. The film received the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film at 63rd National Film Awards for 2015.
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