Geetanjali Krishna: Flights of fancy

PEOPLE LIKE THEM

The sky was full of kites the morning I went to meet the kite maker. They filled the sky with all the colours of the rainbow, as they fluttered and swooped above us. People drew around to see who was flying them.

It was the kite maker himself, flying 150 of his own creations "" on a single string. "This is nothing," said Asif Mian, when people complemented him on his kite-flying prowess, "I dream of the day when I'll be able to fly 500 kites on one string!"

For this 60-year-old from Rampur, kite flying and making have been a passion for as long as he can remember.

"It was my father who began making kites. Before him, nobody in our family had been in this business. He began his career in the army, but the lure of kite flying proved so strong that he hung up his uniform and took up kite making," Asif Mian reminisced.

The young Asif grew up flying kites and watching them being made. Asif Mian and his father were not alone in their love for kites.

In Rampur, where his family has lived for generations, kite-flying is not just a pleasurable hobby, it's an obsession. "Unlike in Delhi," said Asif Mian, "where kites are flown only on August 15!" They still have kite-flying contests in Rampur, said Asif Mian, where the most amazing feats can be seen.

So the old kite maker has two ranges of kites "" one that's sturdy and cheap, and another for people in metros, who'd be more likely to use the kites as wall decorations instead of flying them.

"Our five rupee kites are best-sellers in Rampur and nearby towns, said he, "while in Delhi, people prefer to buy more ornamental kites."

"Or they go in for the larger ones with beautiful motifs. They can also fly, but who'd want to risk a 50-rupee kite flying off, as kites usually do?" He showed me his range of kites, some shaped like butterflies, others like birds, fishes, umbrellas "" even human figures.

"I've also made kites with cloth "" they fly well too, but only when the wind is high," said Asif Mian, adding, "they're also foldable, and convenient to carry for overseas customers who can put them in their cramped suitcases."

The trick to making a good kite, said he, is to get its balance right. I looked at the flimsy paper in his hands, and then at the twig that he was using for its backbone. "How do you do that?" I asked. "It's easy for me, I've been doing it all my life," he said.

The trick, he added, to flying kites was to understand that balance, as well as wind currents. Asif Mian of course, can fly all sorts of kites: "I flew a 30-foot-long one yesterday, but it broke free. Some children who'd been watching me were very disappointed, but I told them, when America's spaceship Columbia can fall to the ground, why should you mourn a kite?"

Of his seven sons, three have joined Asif Mian's business. "I've a shop in Rampur, and sometimes get orders too. But what I make is just enough to support me and my family," said he, running his hands over a kite with a vivid sun motif on it.

"I want at least some of my grandchildren to follow in my footsteps. Not because of business reasons, but because I don't want this art to die out," said he. I hope his grandchildren do keep the tradition going "" because for us, kites might seem mere flights of fancy, but to him they're his life.