Kite flying on Independence Day: How a community bonding exercise lost its charm over the years

The tradition of flying kites on Independence Day is a throwback to 1927, when the slogan “Simon, go back!” was written on kites. (Photo by Suchetad12 via Wikimedia Commons)

An intricate web of strings and paper suspended in the air, held up by the wind beneath, was once a common sight on August 15. The strings would emanate from a terrace where an evening soiree would be unfolding—complete with music, cross-terrace chit-chat and snacks. In the pre-Internet days, kite flying was a community bonding exercise which fostered a feeling of togetherness. A confluence where members of all age groups met and kite-gazed, it was less an activity and more an adhesive which, much like kite strings that hold kites, held together the neighbourhood.

Young men would often played kite runners while engaging in fierce cross-terrace competition to retrieve the enemy’s patang. Years later, kite flying seems to have disappeared from Independence Day celebrations. Once a staple across Indian households where children helmed strings, making their kites sail through turbulent winds, the exercise has gone obsolete partly due to the advent of smartphones, partly due to environmental concerns.

Kite flying at Alleppey Beach, Kerala. (Photo by Swifant via Wikimedia Commons 2.0)

Strings of death

The strings which were once symbols of freedom have now become harbingers of death. In the mid-2010s, news reports of bystanders, motorcyclists and even kids being injured by the glass-coated string made the headlines. This left the kite flyers questioning the very purpose of the activity, which is much-romanticized in popular culture.

The music video of Sona Mohapatra’s 'Ambarsariya', for instance, shows the lead pair sharing an intimate moment while flying kites, a trope commonly explored in Bollywood films. Bollywood numbers like 'Udi Udi Jaaye' from the film Raees (2017) and 'Manja' from Kai Po Che (2013) often grab a spot on yearly Makar Sakranti playlists on Spotify.

At what point does warm, fuzzy turn into a horrific reality that no one can look away from? At what point does reminiscence turn into pain and suffering? On 20 July 2023, 25 days before the Independence Day, a seven-year-old girl in West Delhi died after her throat was slit by manjha, this despite a ban on the sale of the string in Delhi since 2017.

Environmental impact and bird rescue

In Shaunak Sen’s Oscar-nominated documentary All That Breathes (2022), we see two brothers, Nadeem and Saud, based in North-East Delhi, rescue black kites—many of whom were injured due to the glass-coated manjha. According to a New York Times report, 90 percent of black kites are injured by manjha, half of these birds die.

Kite flying, despite the community spirit it fostered, has to some extent, disturbed the ecological balance in North India and contributed to the death of several migratory and non-migratory birds. This isn’t just limited to Delhi. In 2006, veterinarians were rushed to the International Kite Festival in Gujarat to rescue birds injured by kites. These vets listed helpline numbers for people to call and report an injured bird if they happened to spot one.

It is important to mention here that the National Green Tribunal imposed a ban on the use of nylon or synthetic thread material for kite flying in 2017. Despite this, in some parts of the country, kite flying using manjha continues unabated.

Reconciling tradition with modernity

Since much of our leisure time in the post-pandemic world is spent on smartphones, mourning the loss of an outdoor activity which fostered community spirit is, perhaps, warranted. But as is the case with tradition, we must update it to keep up with modern times or in this case, rising population density, and environmental concerns.

Empowering as the activity was, kite flying often excluded women as mostly men engaged in kite running and retrieving strings. Kite flying has, since time immemorial, been a male-dominated activity. Women were often excluded from these male-only spaces.

Batting for cotton manjhas

Kite-flying enthusiasts in Delhi, for whom kite flying was an integral part of their childhood, are now advocating for use of cotton manjhas. “Injuries happen not because of the sport, but because the wrong kind of manjha is used,” Hindustan Times quoted Sunny Singh, a product manager from Gurugram, as saying.

The tradition dates back to 1927 when the slogan “Simon, go back!” was written on kites. Ever since, kite-flying has become a tradition for Indians on Independence Day to celebrate their freedom from the British colonial rule.

Kite flyers are now reinventing tradition to keep up with present times by using cotton manjha. However, contrary to sellers’ claims, cotton manjha, too, results in death. “It is a misconception that only synthetic thread is dangerous. Cotton ones coated with glass are equally sharp”, Times of India quoted an anti-manjha activist as saying. Due to the manjha industry being unregulated and sellers finding loopholes in the Green Tribunal’s 2017 order, deaths caused by manjha continue to be a concern around Independence Day festivities.