India Kite Culture + deculture
india 2004 weB.Log
Makar Sankranti - special

virtual webreport live ~)

oder auch: ueber die oekologischen vorzuege
des virtuellen kerosinfreien reisens
Ach! Medabad - ach, Medabad..
15 jan 2004

the makarsankranti kiteflying in the indian news:
IndoAsianNews: "AhmedaBad, five fatal accidents were reported from different parts of the state, most of them owing to kite lines. Two people succumbed to injuries in a hospital here early Wednesday after the razor sharp kite lines slit their throats two days ago. Another person fell off the terrace and died when he tried to catch a floating kite in the city Sunday. In Vadodara, the cultural capital of Gujarat, 110 km from here, one child was crushed to death by a speeding vehicle while trying to catch a floating kite on the road Saturday. On the same day in Surat in south Gujarat, 278 km from here, the passing line of a floating kite cut one person's throat. The person died later in hospital. Kite fight enthusiasts work hard to make the lines sharp, lining it with paint colours, pulp, eggs and glass, to enable the kites to "cut" better. Accidents due to kite lines of floating kites are frequent during the festival season of Uttarayan.

14 jan 2004

traditional kite flying from rooftops in india


due to missing ahmedabad report - here a photo
of Makarsankranti sday in JAIPUR [© m.skoog]

[gujarat state government]
"...and enjoying theme cuisine."


live from our "indian week"
13 jan 2004
tuesday 		[gujarat state government]
"Convention" University Grounds, Gurukul, Ahmedabad -
"Theme Pavilions and Exhibition on Kite Manufacturing"
 
live from the festival [copyright gujarat government] - the "festival online" was a live broadcast from the essar business convention, with a kite-style-display of the speakers stage. the live report was promised to be online all "3 days of the kitefest" - unfortunately, it was running only during the business convention hours - no kite cultures became broadcasted..

12 jan 2004
monday

 

[gujarat state government]
in the morning: "Intl.Kitefestival" in the Police Stadium, Shahibaug, Ahmedabad

[india press]
"economic development of craftsmen, including kite makers"
"What is needed is the marketing of kites"
""The Gujarat government has roped in Essar to sponsor its `Pravasi patang utsav', a mega event aimed at attracting investments form the non-resident Gujaratis (NRG).
..Equipped with new industrial, mining and tourism policies, the state government will try and get NRGs to invest and set up units back home..
But sources in the state government said Essar will spend Rs 5-7 crore on the event that will see the presence of around 6,000 invitees, almost all of them non-resident Gujaratis.
" [ 1 crore = 10million rupees --- 1 rupee = 0.021901 us$ --- Rs 5-7 crore = us$ 1,05 - 1,5 milion us$ ]


india kite live at festival - NOT from gujarat !

11 jan 2004 sunday

 

today is a kitefliers meeting in mumbai, on chowpatty beach.

India Times: Ahmedabad: " A walk around Tankshal ni pol in Kalupur finds the kite-makers rather indifferent to the hoopla surrounding colourful kites. Few of them have heard about it. Some were invited to attend a meet but could not go due to pressing schedules. The government may talk about aspirations soaring high in the blue sky but the dusty lanes and bylanes tell a different tale. Beneath the colours and designs lie a different world of humble kite-makers trying hard to make both ends meet."

on the road - indian cowboy ;-) and strange fruits...

10 jan 2004 saturday
exploring india environments - nature, culture, pop-music and demystification.

"Kites fly high, but spirits are low "
TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ FRIDAY, JANUARY 09, 2004 11:16:27 PM ]
This Uttarayan, kites might soar high in the sky thanks to the much talked about Vibrant Gujarat Patangmahosatv. But the ground reality is different.
A walk around Tankshal ni pol in Kalupur finds the kite-makers rather indifferent to the hoopla surrounding colourful kites. Few of them have heard about it. Some were invited to attend a meet but could not go due to pressing schedules. The government may talk about aspirations soaring high in the blue sky but the dusty lanes and bylanes tell a different tale. Beneath the colours and designs lie a different world of humble kite-makers trying hard to make both ends meet.
"We come here for making a livelihood. In Rajasthan, kites are flown during Rakshabandhan (in August). So, this is the time for us to make money here," says Latifbhai from Jodhpur . He is not the lone visitor from the neighbouring state. A few feet away a banner showing 'Nateshwar Patang House' flies high. Therein lies another story of struggle and dreams. Gajendranath for whom kite-making runs in the family has been coming to the city for the last five years. "Every year we take a house on rent for three months before Uttarayan. Generally we do good business here, but this time the sale is yet to pick up," he says.
Then there is Sanwarbhai from Jodhpur whose father has been coming to Ahmedabad for the last 40 years. But this year it has been a low-key affair so far. "Sales are bad, though we keep hearing about the Patangmahasotv.Maybe things will improve this weekend," he says.
Most Rajasthani kite-makers feel that there is tough competition from the locals who sell kites at a lower price. "But the quality of our kites is better," says Sanwarbhai. However, locals themselves feel there is room for everyone. Like Jvlait and his group of friends, who decided to do something different this year and got into kite selling. Does he regret his decision considering the slump in the market this year? "Not really. We are hopeful of a rise in sales within a few days. Our emphasis is on good quality," he says.
For a majority of kite-makers however, the rising costs and hard work are not worth the result. "All that we need is to make a living out of kites. It's a very difficult task and physically tasking too. My children don't want to be a part of this business," adds Latifbhai.
Even as the state government gets ready to give a slice of life in Gujarat to the NRIs and NRGs this Uttarayan (with all extravaganza), the kite-makers are just hoping for a better sale.
Will it work for them in the end?

siddharta
hesse
ghandi
elephant
sauerkraut
alexander
ganges
burning
india in german view versus germany in indian view - common views...

air, planes, mythology, and mirrored reality in the shopping windows... / and frog + sitzkissen.
09 jan 2004
friday 		[sun city kiteclub, jodhpur]
"we are sad now. you can imagine that we are furious about the behaviour of this festival organisor. we will really miss you.
all sun city kitefliers were looking forward for your arrival.."

[abad.blog]
friday night 04hrs: leaving to franfurt. taxi, railway shuttle. scheduled flight is 11 hrs. the flight itself - a horror as always. no space for the long legs, which hurt after a few hours. too small seats. landing mumbai or bombay at midnight the same day..

air, plane >

08 jan 2004 thursday

[abad.blog]
thursday late evening: ..still packing the stuff. baggage limit is only 20kgs, and max length is 158cm. so, have to leave all larger kites at homebase. beside, as we do not know what will happen in india - no schedule or program reached us - it should be better to go with small baggage. for the case, we have to travel by bus, train, bikes, trucks or boats - its better to have max 12 or 15 kgs backpacks..

[h.p. france]
"I can understand exactly what you feel, it was the same to me twice last years. Every time I "buy" my visa and at the last moment they told me that I could not go... Without reasons of course... "
[tom:] was it the same organisation (gujarat government, mr bazil joseph?)

[derek, gb]
"I have had similar experiences with Gujarat in the past, and it does not surprise me too much. (Additional information: last year they pulled out in the middle of December saying that central government had cut the budget in half. During January we saw TV pictures of the riots in the streets of Ahmedabad......) "

[a.p. india mumbai]
"It's the tourism dept. of the govt of gujarat. The problem is mis-management.
Also it gives all kite festivals in India a bad name..
some say: ' it's typical problem of dealing with India..' - No it's not! I am also from India. I also organize a kite festival since 1997.. I don't give people these problems.
Anyway, right now for me ity's very crazsy.. They squeezed 7 crores* out of Essar for the kite festival.. where it will actually go, nobody knows! "
( * 7 crores = 1,5 million us$ )

06 jan 2004

the refusal

- 3 days before our "confirmed" flight - 5 days before festival :
"Due to unavoidable circumstances, we regret our inability to sponsor your trip to India for participation in the International Kite Festival of Gujarat 2004.. We thank you for your interest and appologize for the inconvenience caused to you. Thanking you,. Gujarat Tourism" [government of gujarat state]
18 dec 2003 [tom] - upon request by gujarat state government, to join ahmedabad kitefestival, to display kitefly and windart, we publish a webpage for preparation of the show, displays and the tour.
17 dec 2003

[husain, golden kite club jodhpur]
..make sure to come to jodhpur when you are in india...

[mohamed golden kite club]
..bring your creations, as much as possible!
we indian people are very simple easy to tackle with, so nothing to worry about.
just come and relax.

jodhpur postcard >
indian dancer in phnom penh theatre >>

 

Live India

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