Hyderabad: Sankranti josh grips city

Hyderabad: Makar Sankranti festivities began in Hyderabad on Sunday, with the first day celebrated as Bhogi. In Sankranti, every household in the city gets bustled with festival activities, including ‘Patangbazi’, a traditional contest of flying kites. The blue sky painted a colourful array of bright hues and tones with kites and cheers using loudspeakers, DJs, and blowing trumpets during the kite flying. Sankranti, the festival, came alive with a traditional celebration that is also known for kite flying. The grounds were filled to the brim, and every rooftop or terrace was occupied by kite flyers. With four days of holidays at a stretch, the excitement of Patangbazi of all ages is coming out to soak up the festive mood. Traditional kite markets in Old City continued to remain a big draw.

Large groups of young people were seen purchasing kites at markets in Gulzar Houz, Hussaini Alam, Moosa Bowli, Dhoolpet, Mangalhat, and Begum Bazaar. Temporary stalls set up at Narayanguda, Secunderabad, Ameerpet, Dilsukhnagar, and other areas also witnessed a brisk business. All through the day, hectic preparations were here with floodlights being erected and music systems set up on rooftops. Moreover, flying kites at night in Begum Bazaar is a big draw during the festival.

“Flying kites at night is a decades-old tradition at Begum Bazaar and surrounding areas, especially in the Old City. Large numbers of families turn up on roof tops to indulge in kite flying. “It is unique because kite flying is done at night and the sky is lit up,” says Srinivas Yadav, a kite enthusiast at Mangalhat.

For kite-flying, family and friends gather on the terrace and fly their kites in the sky. Kite-flying is a great treat to watch, especially during Patangbazi, in which participants try to cut each other’s kites. People enjoy competing with rivals in which one must cut and lose the string of another kite, which is also called ‘Pench.’

“The excitement is in the air. Yes, it is time to celebrate Sankranthi with kites,” said Mohammed Anwar, another enthusiast at Shalibanda.

There was no dearth of new designs. This Sankranti, kites have flooded the market. While kites of popular characters such as Batman and Spiderman, as well as actors such as Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Mahesh Babu, and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, are in high demand. The Congress party supporters were seen flying the kite printed with images of Revanth Reddy on it.

“The festival comes just once a year, and it is an opportunity for us to pass on the art of flying kites to children,” says Shankar.

Traditional kites such as the dulhan patang, ek khalam, doh khalam, anda patang, zebiya, and others were sold in the traditional markets in the Old City. “Kites are usually named according to the design. A kite with two egg-shaped papers affixed to it is called ‘Anda Patang’ while a well-decorated kite is often called “Dulhan Patang,” explained Anwar, a trader at Gulzar Houz.