No, that’s not a bat venturing out during the day, but a
kite shaped like a bat being flown at the first International Kite Festival
being held at Miramar beach. And it’s not just bats, but fish, tigers and many
other creatures and objects as the participants of the festival have taken
creativity to a whole new level with their kites. Miramar beach witnessed a
flurry of activity starting at 10 am on January 21, 2015. The people rushing to
the shores weren’t there to enjoy a brisk morning walk but showed up either to
fly a kite or watch the multicoloured flying objects paint the skies. The
ongoing International Kite Festival is being organised by Parivartan Parivar
under the leadership of ex MLA of south Belagavi Abhay Patil in association
with the Department of Tourism, Goa. The committee has successfully organised
five International Kite Festivals in Belgavi and this is their maiden festival
in Goa.
Chaitanya Kulkarni of Parivartan Parivar says, “Being our
first event in Goa, we are overwhelmed with the response. Earlier, we used to
organise press meets in Goa about the Belgavi International Kite Festival and
many tourists used to travel to Belgavi especially for the festival. This time,
we thought of having it in Goa itself. We just concluded the fifth
International Kite Festival in Belgavi on January 20, 2015 and commenced the
Goa chapter on the very next day. The festival will conclude today, January 22,
2015.”
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He further adds, “The festival has brought global
recognition for the city of Belgavi and receives more than 3.5 lakh visitors
during the two days of the festival. We
hope to do the same in Goa. In the evening, the kites will be lit up with LED
lights for the audience.”
The festival has 19 international kite flyers participating
from countries like Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Argentina, Estonia, Indonesia,
Great Britain, Belgium, Netherlands and Malaysia. The national flyers are from
states across India including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal and
Kerala. All the kite flyers have come with their own kites designed in the form
of personalities, animals, cartoon characters, political leaders and even the
Indian tricolour took to the skies.
Maarten van Hienen from the Netherlands has been travelling
to India since the past 25 years for various kite festivals held in the
country. This is the first time he is travelling to Goa and finds the
experience amazing. “For most of the festival, the wind is not right but the
weather and wind conditions in Goa are perfect for the festival. I make my own
kites with a signature patchwork design. I carried 15 kites with me for this
festival which can be rolled up at the end of the day,” says Maarten who runs a
shoe importing business in the Netherlands with kite flying being his favourite
hobby.
