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Kite Day! (Sort Of)...

So yesterday was a National Holiday here... it's a tradition on this holiday for people to fly kites here in the Capital... In M-town we had this AWESOME holiday called Basant Panchami or Kite Day as we called it (click on the link to see our post about it)... but we were disappointed this year to learn that it is NOT celebrated here in the Capital.... BUT they do a smaller version of Kite day on this national holiday....

So we were going to head out to meet our friend in the Old part of town and fly some kites...
I ended up deciding not to go because the heat was going to be bad (we fly kites on the roofs of houses)... and the heat has really made me sick lately... so, Adam went without me.... As you can see from Adam's face in the pic below... it was HOT!
All the guys got their kites and string and got ready for the big day!
Adam has become a pro at kite flying... Deep (in the pic below) is a good friend of ours from M-town. He used to be Adam's language helper, and we were at his house almost every day. Anyway, Deep is the one that taught Adam how to fly kites :) ... these aren't kites like they have in America that you can get up in the air easily... these are hand-made tissue paper kites... and there is a definite technique to flying them...
You can fly kites on your own.... but the fun of having a "kite day" is being able to be on the roof with everyone else - all the neighbors (as seen in the first pic) and fly kites all at once.... now don't think that this is just peaceful kite flying... the whole point of kite day is to try to keep your kite up as long as possible and "CUT" the other people's kites down.... So you have two different kinds of strings... one is heavier and tougher to "cut" the other kites... and one is regular white kite string.... there's a special way to put holes in your kite, cut the string, tie the string... it's definitely an art! Adam has become pretty good at cutting other people's kites! With ONE of Adam's kites, he cut THREE other kites!!
Adam and the guys had a blast! Next year I'll be out there :) (and Jellybean too!!) Whoo hoo!!! Maybe I'll bring a big umbrella (like in the pic below) :)
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Comments

The Agarwals said…
I just saw your note on facebook and knew there must be a post here too! What a cool and fun concept- it's like EXTREME kite flying! What fun!! Do you have any pics of the kites?
11:28 PM
allhisblessings said…
yeah I was curious to see what Adam's kite looked like too!
3:13 AM
SouthAsiaRocks said…
You actually buy about 20-30 kites - they get cut easily... (they're just about 4 cents each)... there's a pic of what the kites look like in that kite day link... :) Sorry, Adam was the one with the camera this time, not me :)
9:10 AM
The Agarwals said…
Cool- I went back and looked and it appears in that last pic on this post(the ladies with the umbrella) that there is a kite there too!
9:54 AM
Emily said…
Adam needs to teach James how to fly a kite. We had a lot of trouble and never got ours in the air. Well, I say "we". My involvement was limited to picture taking. :)
10:20 AM
allhisblessings said…
Tagged Ya...please come read my blog to find out more.
11:50 PM
jrob said…
I need Adam to help me fly those crazy things. I couldn't get mine up at all. Way to go on cutting down the other kites Adam!
9:10 PM
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