Gone with the wind: Shrinking spaces elbowing out kite-flying culture in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Annually, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti and the advent of Uttarayan, kite-flying becomes a community activity, symbolising a collective return after the winter chill.

However, diminishing open spaces in the city have significantly impacted kite-flying in recent times. The rise of apartment culture has compressed traditional neighbourhoods, and urban development over the decades has erased open spaces and playgrounds from Bengaluru’s landscape.

Sankranti is an ideal time for kite-flying due to favourable wind conditions.

Why kite-flying?

A Prasad, head of the IMD’s meteorological centre in Bengaluru, notes that wind speeds during Sankranti range from 10-30 kmph. “Many parts of Karnataka, particularly in coastal areas, will have higher winds,” he said.

V Krishnaji Rao, an internationally acclaimed Bengaluru-based kite-runner, said he was taken to kite-flying from childhood and made it his career. “Kite-flying during Sankranti is very popular in Gujarat,” Rao said. “It celebrates the end of thick fog. They use manja threads to cut each other’s kites to celebrate speedy winds and clear skies, but manja is used rarely in Karnataka.”

In Karnataka, Rao said kite-flying extends to other festivals like Ashadha Ekadashi, albeit with rare use of manja threads.

The changing cityscape and the scarcity of open spaces have had profound effects on the kite-flying culture during Sankranti.

Rao laments the transformation of once-abundant barren lands into tech parks and apartment complexes. Playgrounds, where available, often demand high rents. “Sometimes, we fly kites near the lakes,” he said.

Scholar and cultural anthropologist Usha Rao said empty spaces disappeared in the city a long time ago.

Kite-flying, especially among middle-class children and teens, has sharply declined. Urban spaces have undergone a significant shift, with large grounds either commercialised or repurposed, leaving little room for traditional activities.

“Many large grounds have either become commercialised into sports arenas that we have to subscribe to or they have become other things — metro stations being one of them,” she said. She gives examples of Banda Ground in Bamboo Bazar that went to the metro. Two others in the cantonment area have also been given for metro construction.

“Houses have given way to apartment complexes,” Usha said. “Neighbours no longer know each other — coming together to play itself is not something that is a given.”