Soaring demand for Baahubali, Kabali kites

Tirupati: Kites with the pictures of Baahubali, Kabali, Chota Bheem and Mickey Mouse besides animals like eagle and tiger…are literally flying high in the temple city on the occasion of Sankranti festival.

The colourful kites which are the result of intricate work on the part of the kite makers, is growing by the day. The youth and children and even some adults made it a habit to celebrate farmers’ festival by flying kites.

Cashing in on blockbusters like Baahubali and Kabali, kite vendors in the city are selling kites with film names, politically popular figures like Narendra Modi, Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi. Kite sellers are elated as their business has got a boost ahead of the festival and brought kites from Hyderabad, Chennai cities apart from locally made ones.

The star attraction this year was a special kite called ten-in-one. This one is after flying in the sky releases ten pieces of small kites in to the sky through one thread.

The kite lovers also have a wide range of small and big kites of various shapes and colours and also variety of multi-colour threads to choose as they like.

The streets including Teerthakatta Veedhi, Bhavani Nagar, Pedda Peerlachavadi Sandu and many areas teemed with enthusiastic kite buyers on Thursday and shopkeepers minting money by selling kites from Rs 5 to 500.

“At the end of winter season, the kites sale picks up and three days before Sankranti the kites business reach its peak. We are selling different types of kites for children and youth. Many parents coming here to have the pleasure of purchasing kites for their children,” said P Yoga, retail kites shop owner at TK Street.

He stated that sales were gone up from Rs 2,000 to 5,000 since two days. K Praveen, an eighth class student of SV High School, speaking to The Hans India said that he is visiting the shops along with his friends before Sankranti for the last two years to buy the best kites.

Meanwhile, the city-based Varasiddhi Vinayaka Mahotsava Committee is organising a kite festival here in Nehru Municipal High School grounds on Friday on the occasion of Bhogi, the first day of three-day Sankranti festival.

Committee convener Samanchi Srinivas said here on Thursday that the festival which will be held from 9.30 am to evening will be formally inaugurated by local MLA M Suguna and municipal corporation commissioner V Vinay Chand in the school grounds.

The kite festival was to uphold and promote the cultural and traditional practices of Telugus.