The sky was painted in all hues, in all shapes. There was an ‘Ambari’ (the golden howdah), a tiger, a lotus, and what not. Even elderly people rejoiced like children. The joy of the children knew no bounds. The Lalitha Mahal Palace and the majestic Chamundi Hill provided the perfect backdrop. Prizes were only a bonus for the lucky ones.

Even though the Dasara kites contest was held far away from the city, at Lalitha Mahal helipad grounds, minus all the halo surrounding Dasara, the excitement was sky-high and the response was good.

Many enthusiasts flew kites just for fun, without registering for the contest, some of them were very good which could have actually won prizes, said Guruprasad, a judge for the contest. He said last year there were more contestants in the 23 plus category but this year the contest had become popular among young children too. There were 57 contestants in the under 12 category among 200 contestants. “The response from women was also good, there were some 50 women contestants,” he added.

The contest was held in four categories, but prizes were given under five categories — a special category common for all participants across the four categories.

The contest has been organised for the second year in a row as part of Dasara festivities and the arrangements have been far better than last year, said Paramesh, a contestant from Kalenahalli in Mandya district.

Working president of the Dasara kites contest sub-committee S Nagarajappa, excise superintendent, said registration was free and food and water was provided for contestants, participants and audience as there were neither restaurants nor shops in the vicinity.

 “Adequate parking space was provided and even the people cooperated well. We had also invited experts from Rajasthan to popularise kite flying. They sold their kites and also gave some tips on the art of flying kites to the participants,” he added.

V K Rao, another judge for the contest, said most of the prizes went to contestants from Mandya district — 11 out of 25 — particularly to those from Kanaganamaradi in Pandavapura taluk winning six prizes. Contestants from Doddaballapur have also done well with four winners.

He noted: “One Paramesh, who won a prize is from Kalenahalli in Mandya taluk, but his name was registered by his friends from Kanaganamaradi, who actually flew the kite.”

Paramesh said: “Technically, I am the winner. But, the actual winners are my friends from Kanaganamaradi. There are about 30 persons in Kanaganamaradi, who are experts in making and flying kites. They have been participating in contests all over Karnataka. Now, they have plans to participate in contests held in Rajasthan also.”
Winners:

Under 12: G R Ravichandra from Gantagowdanahalli, Mandya, first prize, H K Chandan from Holalu, Mandya, second prize, Kiran Teja from Kanaganamaradi, Mandya, third prize and M Surya from Mysore and Vishal from Hunsur consolation prizes.

12 to 23: Pradeep from Kanaganamaradi, Mandya, first prize, Siddarth from Gamanahalli, Srirangapatna taluk, Mandya, second prize, A M Ravi from Doddaballapur third prize, and Yadu Nandish and P Puneeth Kumar, both from Mysore, consolation prizes.

23 plus: Raju Arya from Holalu, Mandya, first prize, Maruthi from Doddaballapur second prize, Paramesh from Kalenahalli, Mandya, third prize, R Muniraju from Doddaballapur and K M Raju from Kanaganamaradi consolation prizes.

General: D Sanjay from Mysore first prize, Nanju from Kanaganamaradi, Mandya, second prize, Prabhu from Doddaballapur third prize and B Poornima from Bangalore and Mamatha Kulakarni from Hunsur consolation prizes.

Special: S Induja from Mysore first prize, Haripreeth Gowda from Mysore second prize, Vinay from Mysore third prize and Shivakumar and N Ravi, both from Kanaganamaradi, consolation prizes.