Foreign kite flyers have come with Tinkerbell, cat kites to Mangaluru kite festival

65-year-old Liannawati Lie from Indonesia is attending the kite festival in Mangaluru for the second time.

Mangaluru: Liannawati Lie from Indonesia is all set to fly her kite, a furry character Tinkerbell, during the ONGC-MRPL International Kite Festival at Tannirbavi beach on February 10 and 11.

The 65 year -old Lie is attending the kite festival in Mangaluru for the second time. During her first visit she had flown a Hanuman kite in 2019. Lie told DH: “Kite flying has been my hobby for the past 30 years. I have visited many international kite festivals in order to fly my kites. I also make kites and export them to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and Cambodia.” Her kites are made of ripstop nylon material, she added.

Kite flying brings them together

Alex Shramko from Ukraine and Nee from Thailand bonded while flying kites and are in a relationship. “We have known each other for the past eight years. But an international kite festival in Thailand brought us together. Both of us now participate in international kite festivals. Our theme is cat. We also have kites with pictures of dogs, monster in order to attract children,” Alex and Nee vouched.

“We will be participating in a kite festival in Thailand on February 22. Both of us had taken part in a kite festival held in Ahmedabad in January. This is the first time we are visiting Mangaluru. The weather in Mangaluru and Thailand is almost similar,” Alex said.

Traditional kites, train kites

74-year-old Abdul Rauf from Golden Kite Club of Mumbai is visiting Mangaluru city for the first time to be part of a kite festival. He is well versed in fighter kites, train kites, and Indian traditional kites. Rauf said he will be flying train kites in Mangaluru. “Train kites are several kites linked together or attached in some way to a single line. One train kite has 101 kites with the theme butterfly. While another train kite with 70 kites on Batman. While a train kite with 35 kites on stars will also be part of the festival.

He said “I have been taking part in international kite festivals for the past 28 years in European countries. It takes nearly a month to prepare train kites. Preparing kites and flying them is my hobby. Flying train kite is also difficult. We tie the thread of the kite to our waist to control its movement."